Living a life according to your values does not have a but.
Not doing the right thing does not allow room for an excuse.
This is applicable in everything in your life.
If you have your values very well defined, the moment you decide your decisions will be based on your foundation, even tough decisions will be easy because you are doing what is right according to your values.
Those decisions will never embarrass you or leave you in a place of regret.
Perhaps you learn you could do differently, but based on your values it will be a learning process, not a bad decision.
Why am I saying this?
Because in the world of personal development, each journey starts by defining your values and the person you want to be. With this definition, your life will be commanded with a purpose and dignity.
Approaching the new year and new decisions you may have to make, review your choices and see if you are grounded to your values.
A good question to ask is, “Am I doing the right thing, even when no one is watching?”
If the answer is YES, you are BRAVE and life only can offer the best to you!
If the answer is NO, please revisit your values so you can conscientiously name them. Then take the courage to act accordingly.
Sometimes following your dreams, decisions at work, or even in your relationships, we find an excuse to behave in a way that we are not really proud of:
- …my boss told me to do it this way.
- …I didn’t have an option.
- …it was out of my control.
- …I didn’t want to hurt the feelings of others.
Just to let you know, the decision is yours. There are always options, even when others are telling you otherwise.
Living a life with values makes you achieve more!
That’s something we strive to teach our children. The integrity to do what is right, even when it’s not the easy choice. Even when no one is around to see. That’s what makes a human truly great.
It’s easy to do the right thing when it serves us. It’s easy to be a model citizen when everyone is watching. But what about those situations where the right choice is the harder choice? The pressure from others to do the wrong thing. Our selfish nature to pull ourselves up, even when that means pulling someone else down.
I will admit, those times are tempting. We’ve all heard the lessons about peer pressure and tuning out the voices of those that are sitting on our shoulders, encouraging us to do the wrong thing. That’s why there’s whole programs out there trying to get teenagers to not give in. It’s hard! It’s hard for adults, and I’m sure you can remember how hard it was in your youth!
I think the hardest situations are when you want to do something that will help yourself, but it may mean stepping on someone else’s feet to get there. Maybe letting the boss know a coworker made an honest mistake to make yourself look better or to increase your chances of a promotion. Tattling on a friend on the playground for breaking a rule because then she won’t beat you at a game anymore.
But that’s the kicker. Resisting those urges. Tell that voice no. Allow others grace to recover from their mistakes instead of throwing them under the bus. Maybe you don’t have to trample over someone else to help yourself.
Have you ever been in a situation where you knew what the right thing to do was, but you were tempted to do something else? Has anyone else wronged you to help themselves?
I challenge you to sit down to really fine tune your own values so you can be sure to stick to them when the time comes.
