by Bill Gough, Allstate Hall of Fame Member
Every so often I take an ethical account of my life up until the exact moment of where I am at in life. I call it “my check up from the neck up.”
I do this as a way of personal development when I feel as though I have made some poor or unsuccessful choices or if my attitude is not what it should be.
This checkup involves being very direct and true with myself and I take an inventory of what I have done right and where I fell off the wagon. Remember, all progress starts with the TRUTH.
A while back, when I was doing one of these self-discovery phases, I found a quote by Mahatma Gandhi. This has become one of my preferred quotes:
Your beliefs become your thoughts.
Your thoughts become your words.
Your words become your actions.
Your actions become your habits.
Your habits become your values.
Your values become your destiny.
Mahatma Gandhi
Strung together, these words can be powerful and life changing for us when we continue our personal growth study to understand them into our lives.
While evaluating an aspect of your life that is or is not working, look to your primary belief system to establish why this is so.
Ask yourself “what do I really believe” instead of “what am I supposed to believe”. Asking yourself this ONE question will shed some grace on why your life is working and why it is not.
Once you have found the answer(s) to the above question, ask yourself “what is my belief in this matter that is affecting my attitude?” You may be surprised with your answer.
Don’t get me wrong… I never said it was easy to go through a self-evaluation. Even if your self-evaluation means that you have to face and divide some of your thoughts, beliefs or attitudes that prevent you from living a joyous and peace-filled life.
Nevertheless, feeling the power and being in control of our lives, rather than being controlled by our choices and decisions, can make the most excruciating eliminations of bad habits and non-productive beliefs heal faster and reduce the pain that we may be experiencing.