6 Philosophies worth living by

Every once in a while you come across some sage advice that really impacts you. Here are the top six philosophies that have really stuck with me:

Be Intentional: (Robert Mattke)
My wife’s grandfather, who was the wisest person I have ever known, taught me to be intentional in everything we do. This was a lesson we learned in our marriage when we found ourselves being pulled in many different directions. It’s very easy to get caught up in many different activities: family events, work functions, church ministries, hobbies, friends gatherings, etc. We found ourselves with this feeling that we were always one step behind and trying to keep up with everything, but not really getting anywhere. He taught us to be intentional about what we do. Make a choice to do something and then be present. Avoid thinking about everything else going on in your life at that moment. If you are spending time with your children, then give them your full attention. If you commit to a family event, then it’s okay to say no to other events that may cut that short. Trim your schedule down a little and enjoy and focus on every situation you are in.

Be your kids #1 Fan: (Jeff Long)
This advice came to me from my Uncle Jeff Long, a pastor and mentor, who took this away from a book he recommended: Hurt by Chap Clark. This has become one of my Top 10 books as well. in today’s society, or children are tested and rated on just about everything they do. They quickly learn that no matter what situation they are in school, sports, clubs, they are ranked on how well they perform. When your child brings home a report card do you ignore the six A’s she received and develop a plan to improve the two B’s? On their sports teams, as much as we want them to be about character building the first thing we focus on is the win-loss record. This shows them that the organization is more important than the individual. Winning is more important than them getting equal playing time. Straight A’s is more important than them learning creativity.

What your child needs most from you is to become their number one fan. The best thing you can do is to spend time with and love your children without agenda. Resist the urge to help them improve on the areas they fall short in, or lecture them on their shortcomings. If they ask, then share with them and help them. But if you notice, they’ll receive this pressure from every other part of their life, and you are one person who can give them what they truly need.

Urgent always competes with Important: (Articles like these)
I’ve heard this advice from several people and articles in the past and its terrific advice to keep in mind, especially when you feel overwhelmed with commitments. There are things in your life that are important: your marriage, your relationship with your kids, your health. And there are things in your life that always seem urgent. There are always things that come up that pull you away from what is important and require your immediate attention.

No one ever got ahead in life, or became successful, by just doing the urgent things.

Learn to focus on what is important. I find that many of the things that take up are time and feel urgent, I bring upon myself. The biggest culprit in my life is technology – phone calls and emails. Learn to let the phone ring while you are at the dinner table with your family. Ignore the text message you receive while you are on a date with your wife. Don’t check your email after a certain time in the evening. Shut your cell phone off when you are on vacation. How often have you found yourself spending time with your family when the phone rings and you say, “I better take this call.” Next time, don’t.These things will always pull you away from what’s important. For me, that’s time with my family.

Be a Thermostat, not a Thermometer: (Articles like these.)
A simple question. Are you a Thermostat or are you a Thermometer.
A thermometer reacts to the temperature of the room. A person who is a thermometer acts the same way everyone else around them does. If your spouse is in a bad mood, then they are in a bad mood. If your co-workers are cynical because of the economy, then they are cynical about the economy.

A thermostat, however, sets the temperature in the room. A person who is a thermostat chooses how they want to act, despite what others around them act like. They choose to be encouraging and uplifting despite others around them who are depressed. They choose to be fun and lighthearted, while others are cynical or sarcastic. The thing with thermostats, is that they eventually set the temperature of the room. When you choose to act how you want to feel, you’ll bring others along with you. People will be attracted to you and enjoy being around you and change their attitude as well.

Good is the enemy of Great: (Good to Great by Jim Collins)
This is the line that Jim Collins starts his book with. The idea is that its very easy to settle for good. But when you settle for good, you give up on great. Usually it doesn’t take that much more effort to do something that’s great. One of the things I learned from Randy Bartlett is that the difference between very successful people and successful people is only about 1%. Tiger woods is only 1% better than the rest of the golfers in his field, but that 1% difference is what makes him a golfing legend. When you are doing something that is important to you, put in the extra 1% work to go from good to great.

Excellence breeds Excellence: (My own philosphy.)
I’ve found that in my life when I strive for excellence in an area, that excellence spills over to other areas of my life. When I am really focusing on a fitness goal and committing time each day to a workout plan, I tend to spend more time playing and giving my kids the attention they need. When I make time to rise early and do morning devotions, I also set aside time during lunch to read a book on parenting, my marriage, or leadership principles. The opposite is true as well for me. When I stop making time for working out, I tend to let other things drop as well, like wanting to rise early. I believe this happens because I put myself in a certain mindset. Wanting to achieve excellence is not something that stays compartmentalized. It’s difficult to allow myself to be extremely fit, but then be lazy when it comes to parenting. For me, I find its more of an all or nothing attitude. I still have to be careful to not allow myself to be come too involved in too many projects, but I certainly don’t mind allowing myself to fall into the mindset of excellence for the projects I take on.

Share your own:
Please share your philosophies that you have learned or come across that have made an impact on how you live…

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