Tag Archives: Valiant

Cheater

5 Jan

We make millions of decisions as we go through our lives. Each choice, bad or good, will clearly define who we are and what we want. Lots of people say they are honest, and many people are. But the idea of real honesty may differ from person to person. For some, it’s clearly defined – do what is right according to our standards and the culture around us, and never waiver. Others see it more fluidly. If they mostly do what’s right and only bend the rules and cheat when they absolutely feel they must in order to win, they are honest enough. Maybe they’ll pay their bills on time but add an hour or two to their timesheets to make ends meet. Or they’re honest in the small things like making sure they don’t accept too much change at the store but will do whatever is needed to make sure they get that promotion at work – even if it means breaking the rules. Desperation may make us so determined to win, we may choose to cheat, lie or whatever else we think will get us there. Cheating does work. It will give us an edge and push us over those around us, but winning by cheating isn’t winning at all, and the advantage is counterfeit and fake. It will look like a win to those around us, but we’ll know we took it dishonestly. The stain of hypocrisy will be permanent, and like a bad tattoo, impossible to remove. Cheating is a characteristic of weakness, and the cost to our integrity will be intense. Once we step over that line and lie to get ahead, it’s hard to step back. We will never be the same and the possibility of doing it again will be easier. If we continue, the road of deceit will be etched in our minds and we may forget what it was like to be completely honest and true. Every decision we make tells the world who we are. Nothing is more important than our self-worth and by choosing wisely, we will pave the road ahead to success.

When we want something intensely, we may decide on shady and dishonest options to help us open the doors ahead. Some things may be very important to us, but there will never be anything so important it’s worth the cost of sacrificing our integrity. Others may be fooled the first time we cheat, but once we are exposed and the truth is clear, we may lose their trust indefinitely. Like breaking glass, we may try to glue the pieces back together, but it will never be whole again.

When we tell people about ourselves, we may say anything we like. If we want to impress them, we may embellish what we’ve done and who we are. But in the end, we are what we do, not what we say. Our actions define us in every sense. The world decides who we are by the choices we make not the beautiful words we use. Every choice determines our standards and what we value. When we choose honestly and valiantly, we bring great success and satisfaction to our lives.

Today if you’re desperate to get to a goal and are considering lying or cheating to reach it, think about your personal worth. You are valuable and worth more than you imagine. Show us how valiant and honest you are by the excellent decisions you make. You have the power to bring greatness and light to us all. Be the best you can be, and the whole world will be blessed.

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Good Things and Bad People

1 Dec

Most of us have a sense of what is fair and how life should be balanced. We believe the unjust and mean should be punished and the righteous and kind should be rewarded. It seems reasonable that good works should bring blessings and evil should result in pain. But it doesn’t always work out that way. We’ve all seen bad people become successful and wickedness rewarded. It doesn’t make sense when it happens and can be hard to accept. Some people believe in Karma – that whatever we do will return to us someday. Along that same line is the law of the harvest which states we will reap what we sow. While it’s true that eventually we will answer for everything we do, whether good or bad, it may not happen right away. When we see hateful, mean, dishonest people move ahead and find success it’s hard to accept, but sometimes good things happen to bad people. However, there is a balance in life and eventually we will all answer for our actions no matter what they are. We might get away with being a snake for a while but eventually the mongoose will show up. There really is no such thing as a free lunch. Eventually we all pay the price for our actions.

As we live our lives we may pretend to be any kind of person we like. We can say anything and it’s often not too difficult to deceive others. We can look the part of a patient and honest individual, appearing to do what’s right when we’re really cheating everyone we come in contact with and breaking every rule that suits us to get ahead. We may fool everyone for a while and get away with the lies but eventually who we really are will shine through. There is no way to fool everyone indefinitely and it’s impossible to keep up a perfect charade over time. Truth always rises and cannot be hidden forever. The smoke will clear and we’ll be exposed. In the end, dishonesty cannot prevail.

When we were children our teachers and parents told us to play fair. They taught us to share and give so we could get along with others. As we mature we learn that although it’s good to be fair, the world isn’t really fair all of the time. Bad people win, the wicked prevail, and sometimes lies get rewarded. Not everyone will treat us honestly and with respect, and sometimes there will be nothing we can do about it. It’s hard to accept that good things sometimes happen to bad people but we can still choose to be valiant. No harm can come from being kind, decent, loving and caring. Honesty and integrity will bring us respect and confidence knowing we are doing what is right. We may not always prevail at first, but if we choose wisely and ethically we will always be right. We can impact the world positively by doing our best and setting the example for good.

Today if you see someone getting ahead through dishonesty and deceit remember there is nothing more valuable than truth and integrity. Your choices determine who you are and you can choose well. Decide to be the best you can and be an example to those around you. You have the power to change the world. Be the light of truth and show the way.

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Redefining

6 Oct

We all have ideas about what success looks like. For some it’s how much we earn, what we look like, or what goals we accomplish. Everyone has a different idea and how we see our personal success often defines how we see ourselves. If we haven’t reached a level we want to achieve we may be discouraged. If we haven’t moved our careers forward like we thought we would or haven’t gotten the praise we think we deserve we can feel like we’re failing. Although success is a personal description of what we want and where we want to go it is often influenced by the ideas held by others. If those around us see it only one way and we haven’t reached that level, we may be discouraged. If we don’t meet their standards and they are important to us, we may feel like failures. It really doesn’t matter how anyone determines what success is but us. If our idea of success if that we manage to get our tasks done every day and don’t lose our temper and we accomplish that, we are successful. We decide what our personal success looks like and we determine how we’ll achieve it. We can redefine what others call it and make it unique to ourselves.

We all have different experiences in life and as a result have unique perspectives about things. What one sees as moving forward, another may see as taking a step back. If we’re focused on non-profit work our motivation may not be to make more money. On the other hand, if we’re driven to be financially independent our income level will mean a lot. The interpretations of how to live our lives depend on who we are and what we want. Our personal choices determine what’s best for us and our personal ideas of success may be very different from the ideas of those around us. We are entitled to define our lives any way we choose and will find happiness from making our personal dreams come true.

The pressures of the world may make us believe our choices aren’t good enough or valiant enough and any number of other ideas. But that doesn’t matter. We have a gift to offer that nobody else can offer. What we do is up to us and we can define success our own way. Maybe we define it by being very patient, or by serving our community, or by practicing the piano every day, or by helping a student with homework. Or maybe we define it by how much money we make or how many people we help. However, we define it we can achieve it. The world has all kinds of ideas about success but we don’t have to adopt them. We can redefine it specifically for us and find great joy in being exactly who we are and achieving what is most important to us. Our lives belong to us and what we do with them is our choice.

Today if you feel pressure to succeed based on someone else’s idea of what that is you can choose your own path. You know what you want and you know how to get it. Be exactly who you are and define success your way. You are a gift to the world and we’re all blessed because you’re here. Your success is defined by you and you will achieve it.

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Chameleon

11 Aug

We are all influenced by those around us. Sometimes we can be easily influenced by those we really like or admire. If we’re around someone frequently, we may find ourselves repeating certain phrases they often say, or copying their movements, which is a natural response to our involvement with them, and their influence over us. There is nothing wrong with this, so long as the carryover doesn’t keep us from being who we really are, or who we want to be. But there are times, when this influence can affect us negatively. There are all kinds of people in the world, and they will all teach us something. We can be like chameleons, absorbing the colors, the words and patterns around us, and making them our own.

If we have a friend or acquaintance that we admire, someone we enjoy spending time with, and their language patterns are different than ours, we may find over time that we begin mimicking the same patterns. If these are patterns that are derogatory such as excessive swearing or using expletives that are abrasive, we may find the addition to them in our vocabulary works against us. Human beings are adaptable by nature. If we hear something enough, it’s predictable that we’ll repeat it. If we repeat it enough, it may become routine in our everyday speech. If that change is lower than our desired standards, we may find it detrimental.

The same is true if we associate with someone who is extraordinarily kind, and uses words of compassion, and patience toward others. When we hear their tender phrases, we are impressed, and may choose to adopt those phrases into our lives. If we do, we may become more compassionate and patient by our association with them. It’s wonderful to meet people who are able to raise others up by their noble influence. If we have someone like that in our sphere it’s a benefit to learn as much as possible from them, and emulate their words and deeds. If we surround ourselves with people like that, we will be richly blessed.

Today, remember that the people you associate with are teaching you. Pay attention to what you’re hearing, and what you’re learning from them. Choose to spend time with those who will lead you to be the best you can be. We can learn nobility and valiance by emulating those who possess those traits. Today, find those friends, and learn all you can from them. You have so much to offer, and gaining good gifts will help you share more effectively.

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