Fresh Eyes

Every now and then it's a good idea to look at the things in our lives as if we were seeing them for the first time. Walk around the house like a perspective buyer. What kind of corrections need to be made? Look at the job performance you render as if you were a consultant. What types of things would you advise a person to do differently if they performed like you? Look at the way you treat your friends and family. If you were a stranger observing your behavior with them, what would you see that could improve? It is so easy to get locked in to mediocrity. We can begin to think things will always be as they are. It has been said whether we believe things can improve or never will, either way we will be right. There is always room for positive change. One of the first steps toward that end is to take a look at things with fresh eyes. Have a great day really seeing what you've been looking at for a long time!

Commitment and Compromise

The evaluation of our setting is a necessary and difficult exercise. Values that are deeply held will sometimes find places of conflict with the values of others. When value systems are at odds with each other there are two basic options. One can either stand true to the values held at all cost, or one can compromise. Although compromise is sometimes demanded for the sake of relational progress, every time a compromise is made concerning a core value a little piece of who we really are is lost. None of us can afford to give in to the degree that we become another person. When compromise is called for too often it's time to ask some difficult questions. Do I really belong in this setting? Would my skills and convictions work better somewhere else? Am I really being true to myself in this current environment? Could somebody else be a better fit for this assignment than I am? These are hard questions, especially in these times of limited opportunities, but they must be asked and honestly answered. Everybody does not fit everywhere. Every assignment is not a lifetime assignment. We all get our feathers ruffled at times in any setting. However, when we are operating from a place of continual compromise our integrity is skewed. Look at how much you function from commitment and how much you function from compromise. That ratio could be telling you something needs to change.

TOGETHERNESS

The thing that brings people together and keeps us there is a common core value system. If the values are not the same it's tough to have unity even in the family setting. There must be values that are elevated and accepted as the ruling ideals of the group. To even get out of the starting blocks it must be acknowledged that we are better off together than in isolation. Togetherness makes deep sorrows a little easier to bear. Togetherness makes the joys of life sweeter still. There is a power to get more accomplished when there is togetherness. We spend so much time pinpointing everything that divides us from one another. If we would just spend some time looking for common ground we could dramatically change our situations in a positive way. When something is valuable down in the very core of you, it is not easily changed. This is not about being something that you are not. It's about finding values that can be shared. There are people that value the same things that you value. Likewise, everything you value does not have to be the basis for a fight. The simple truth is we do better together. Have a great day finding something to share with somebody close to you!