How to Change Your Life…
by Carl A. Trapani
ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR LIFE
Aaron was an eleven-year-old boy whose behavior was described by Dr. William Glasser, his psychiatrist, as horrible. In his book, Reality Therapy, Glasser says Aaron was the most obnoxious child he had ever met. The boy would kick, scream, run away and hide, become withdrawn, disrupt his classes and make everyone disgusted with him. Dr. Glasser saw one problem with Aaron that no one else observed: “No one had ever told him that he was doing wrong.” No one had ever set limits on what he could do and not do.
The psychiatrist decided to try a completely new tack. The boy would have to behave, to act reasonable, or be punished. He responded remarkably. “Probably because he had been anxious for so long to be treated in a realistic way.” Thus he became courteous, well behaved, and his miserable grades went to straight A’s. For the first time in his life Aaron began to play constructively with other children, to enjoy honest relationships with others, and to stop blaming his troubles on his mother or other people. Dr. Glasser calls this “reality therapy” and says one of an individual’s greatest needs is to be made to realize that he is personally responsible for what he does and that right behavior accomplishes more than wrong behavior.
BELIEVE YOU CAN CHANGE
“If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it. ” — Paul Harvey
The story of the Pilgrims is dramatic and significant. On December 21, 1620, the Mayflower dropped anchor in Plymouth Bay, with Captain Christopher Jones at her helm. It had been a grueling voyage, taking the one-hundred-twenty-ton-capacity ship sixty-six days to make the perilous crossing. There had been disease, anxiety, and childbirth among the 102 courageous passengers. Furthermore, they arrived on a bleak New England shore during a hard winter which ultimately claimed half of their number. However, when spring came and the captain of the Mayflower offered free passage to anyone desiring to return, not a single person accepted.
The faith and courage of the forty-one men, who while still aboard the Mayflower had signed the famous Compact beginning with the words, “In ye name of God Amen,” was taking on visible meaning. These brave souls had dedicated themselves to the total causes of freedom. They had come to a wilderness to carve out a better way of life. Faith prompted the voyage; faith sustained the Pilgrims and their religious convictions constrained them to raise their voices in praise. Their hardship, sacrifice, devotion, concept of government, and vigorous religion all came about as a result of the Pilgrims belief in their power to bring change into their lives.
CLARIFY AND FOCUS ON WHAT YOU REALLY NEED
“We become what we think about.” — Earl Nightingale.
Only 3% of Americans have a written goal that they are actively working towards. I 0 % have mental goals. The other 87% are simply having to take life as it comes. They will never achieve I/ I 0 of what the goal setters will. That is why we must write down what we want to see different in our lives – if we truly want to see it changed.
STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHAT OTHERS WILL SAY
Fearing public opinion will only stop you from advancing. Jesus never minded what others said about Him. He knew what needed to be done and He went about doing it. If you fear public opinion, you will never do anything – for someone is bound to disagree with anything you do!
STOP WAITING FOR IDEAL CIRCUMSTANCES
The ideal time is today – there is no better time than the present to get busy bring about the changes you feel are proper. Stop procrastinating and get busy – DO IT NOW!
DO SOMETHING BOLD AND DRAMATIC
George Bernard Shaw, the Irish dramatist and critic, said, “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them – make them!”
DO IT NOW!
Let me repeat what I said – DO IT NOW. Today is the day of salvation and today is the day to begin changing your life into the wonderful series of experiences God wants to give you. Don’t hide behind your insecurities – let them go, and get busy living.
Don’t be bashful. Bite in. Pick it up with your fingers and let the juice that may run down your chin. Life is ready and ripe. Now whenever you are. You don’t need a knife or fork or spoon or napkin or tablecloth. For there is no core or stem or rind or pit or seed or skin to throw away.
THE ABOVE MATERIAL WAS PUBLISHED IN WISCONSIN DISTRICT NEWS MAGAZINE, MAY 1996, P. 2. THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED AND MAY BE USED FOR STUDY AND RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY.
