Several years back ... maybe even close to 8 years ago now we had a New Years party at our house. A lot of people came & a lot of fun was had. It was at that party that my husband shared a concept to which we ended up adopting into our family & business. The concept of C3 - Character, Commitment & Change. If we chose to live our lives with thes 3 things as a compass we will end up in a better place, people around us will be positively affected & most of all we will be able to stand before God one day & hear the words "Well Done."
We have adpoted this as our family motto ... if you were to ask any of our kids they would be able to tell you exactly what it means. I wear a chain around my neck every day that has this on it. I have had it on my liscence plate on my car ... from the outside it would be easy to say & to expalin to anyone I meet. The big question is ... What about the inside??? Do I live these things in my life every day as I deal with my husband, my marriage, my children, my friends, my work, the things I chose to fill my mind with , how I choose to spend my time, the people I meet?
The last several years have been a true test of all these things for me. Why is it that as soon as you put something out there you get attacked from all sides? ... challenged to the core of your being? I have failed so many times at truely living these things out in my life. They say that it is in the struggles of life that true character is built ... I keep thinking that I am going to have one hell of a character in the end.(LOL!) Over the last 3 months I have decided that I would dedicate myself to focus on me for the next 12 months ... to stop trying to change anyone else & to focus my energy on taking care of myself & become the best me I can be. It may sound selfish, but I can assure it is not. Of course as soon as you make a decision like that it is then the difficulty begins & life hits you from all sides. Your true limits are tested. Difficult people & relationships test you, marriage struggles, kids, financial situations, health, time & the list goes on ... it comes from everywhere. 
What I have realized is that over time I have allowed these situations to steal my joy, to suck the life out of me, to depress me & opress me ... That is why I have chosen this year to discover these things again. Every day it is a struggle to keep the right focus & perspective, but over time I am seeing small changes, movement forward & that in & of itself is a positive. Perspective really is everything ... In the end only I can create the life I want for myself. Only I can choose to be happy ... after all it is a choice. When life knocks me down will I chose to get back up & fight or will I allow the struggle to keep my down? I don't want to live fake ... I want to be real & alive & feel! So I chose to live my life with C3 ... Character - who I am when no one is watching. Do the decisions I make & where & how I spend my time reflect the character I want to have & who I say I am? Commitment - Am I commited to the areas in my life that I say are most important to me - my marriage, my family, my health, my God, to discovering my passions & purpose? If people are to look from the outside would they be able to say that I am a committed person to these things? Change - do I embrace change in my life or do I run when things get tough? Do I want to change everyone else but myself? What areas in my life have I committed to changing & are the results visible? Not just talk, but actual results? These are the things I am chosing to focus on ... & with Gods help I will acheive.
Beacuse I want different in my life I am chosing each day to step out on faith, letting go of the past hurts & faliures, not letting fear hold me back any longer, but chosing trust & forgiveness, love, gratitude, acceptance & life. It is a scary journey, but more freeing then I could ever have imagined. It is to that end I choose for different, for better ... for my best! I'm jumping out of the palne in life & chosing to live regardless of life's circumstances. Life will never be perfect, just as I will never be perfect ... but it can be imperfectly perfect for me & that is what I choose! I choose C3.
Gloria, this is really big. Glad that you have learned this. Don't let anyone suck out your life. Don't waste your time trying to change others either It's a waste of time and energy. The only one that you get to change is yourself. If everyone focused on themselves and their own issues, the world would bea much better place. I had to learn not to care much what others think of me, of what I do, if they approve etc. it took a while, but I have learned to put them in their proper place, and not give them the power they sometimes think they deserve. I've tried to teach my kids to deal with their own crap, and allow others the freedom to deal with their own crap in their own time. In the end it makes the world a better place, and own am only responsible for me, and not everyone else too. I think that's the way God intends for it to be.
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing and powerful realization... and idea to pass on. Sounds like a year of challenge and great reward.
ReplyDeleteI think this year my concept is acceptance. It's hard for me to accept anything less than perfection from anything and anyone... including myself. This is very stressful for everyone. I'm working on bringing out more of my inner hippy and just going with it... accepting things as they are. Tough things to change! ;)