How
did you answer this question from last week? “What is YOUR Game Plan in ONE
area of your life?” Did you take time to reflect? Did you make a decision backed
up with ACTION in order to move ahead in your life?
We are
now five months into 2016. What have you done differently to make 2016
different than 2015? In order for you to make a difference in your life
something has to change NOW not
later. Or maybe you don’t want to lead the life that God intended you to live.
Maybe you’d rather keep putting off what you know you “should” do. After all, it is easier to listen to that
little voice telling you all the reasons why you can’t versus why you CAN.
Last
week, I told you about Terrence Wood who made a commitment to himself and his
family to make a difference in his life, and he is willing to do whatever it
takes. Despite the fact his heart is in his business of helping young athletes
with his company Before You Go Pro, he doesn’t bemoan the fact he has to work
two jobs right now. He knows that will not last forever. He doesn’t make
excuses that he’s busy with his wife and four children. Terrence is all about ACTION not excuses. His attitude
is DO WHATEVER IT TAKES.
Jim Rohn says, "Personal success
is built on the foundation of character, and character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices you might
make that gradually turn who you are at any given moment into who you want to
be. If that decision-making process
is not present, you’ll still be somebody – you’ll still be alive – but you may
have a personality rather than a character,
and to me that’s something very different.
Character isn’t something you
were born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints. It’s something you must take responsibility
for forming. You build character by how you respond to what happens in your life,
whether it’s winning every game, losing every game, getting rich or dealing
with hard times. You build character from certain qualities that
you must create and diligently nurture within yourself, just like you would
plant and water a seed or gather wood to build a campfire. You’ve got to look for those things in your
heart and in your gut. You’ve got to
chisel away in order to find them, just like chiseling away rock to create the
sculpture that has previously existed only in the imagination. But the really
amazing thing about character is
that if you’re sincerely committed to making yourself into the person you want
to be, you’ll not only create those qualities, you’ll strengthen them and
re-create them in abundance. Building
your character is vital to becoming
all you can be.”
Often times I hear people stuck with thoughts of not
being able to move forward, not thinking they can change. Excuses such as I’m too old, too young, I
don’t have any time, “my boss is too controlling,” it’s not politically
correct, I don’t have any flexibility with activities due to young children,
school demands, I’m too tired when I get home from work, and the list goes on
and on. What I think Jim Rohn is saying,
in the above paragraph, is that character
building is a choice, and fortunately, we live in a country where we CAN make
choices.
Our 33 year old daughter made the choice almost two
years ago that her health and well-being was important. She wanted to be able to keep up with a
schedule of working full-time, being a wife, raising two young children, being
involved with several volunteer organizations, as well as getting involved in
activities which would help her grow professionally as well as personally. She
has been committed to no excuses, doing whatever it takes, and being consistent.
Planning weekly meals, having healthy snacks available,
and finding a workout program that would work for her were all a part of her Game
Plan. Now two years later, she has been
able to maintain her desired weight, has developed a stronger body, has done an
incredible job balancing life’s demands, and continues to do whatever it takes
to be the best she can be. There are lots of opportunities to not follow
through, lots of reasons to skip a day of working out, lots of opportunities to
make excuses, but she has established a new norm for herself. Yes, there are
sometimes even weeks that things are seemingly out of control. That’s life.
What, to me, shows character is when
someone takes a setback in stride and gets back on track moving ahead once
again. It’s all part of the Game Plan.
As Jim Rohn said, “Personal success is built on the
foundation of character, and character is the result of hundreds and
hundreds of choices…” We all have those
moments, at one time or another, of struggling, wanting to quit, frustrated
with the roadblocks of bureaucracy or the lack of leadership by a boss. I’m of
the belief that each block in the road, each naysayer on our life’s path is put
there for a reason. We have to find out what that reason is so we can move
forward. A person with character is
NOT a quitter when the going gets tough. A person with character continues to move forward. I believe a person dedicated
to building his or her character is
on the path of living a life of significance.
I look at each one of our children and their
spouse. They all have been challenged
with a variety of circumstances and road blocks. They all have been frustrated and
stressed. But, what I admire in them is
they’re building their character. They’re making hundreds and hundreds of
choices in all areas of their lives that are “gradually turning who they are at
any given moment into who they truly want to be.” As Jim Rohn says, “You build character by how you respond to what
happens in your life.”
It’s back, once again, to whether you choose excuses,
rationalizing, or blame as to why something is not working. Or instead do you choose to focus, to do what’s
in your control, to eliminate excuses and blame, and your Game Plan is to take
one step at a time leading you to your dreams and desires.
I wish you a week looking at solidifying your healthy
mindset building on the foundation of your character.
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