Altar Call -- Opelika-Auburn News
Walter Albritton
Sunday, April 16, 2000
The US Army has made popular the slogan, "Be the best that you can be." In that spirit I want
to propose ten principles, not commandments, that can help any of us become the best that we can
be. Some of these principles may already be operational in your life. So I shall be pleased if you
find one or two which could become helpful in your thinking and your living.
One, live your life in chapters. The rings in a tree tell us the story of that tree. Each ring
is a chapter of sorts. In reading a book I often look ahead to find out the length of the
chapter I am reading. In life we all have times of transition, pain, and change. We cannot
always choose the circumstances of our lives, but we can choose to put down a period and
conclude some experience. We can put an end to one thing and begin something new. We may have a
chapter of discouragement, but we can decide that it is over and begin a new chapter of
celebration.
Two, make progress, not perfection, your goal. Refuse to burden yourself with the demand for
perfection in everything. Instead, aim to make a little progress each day, and be at peace about
your imperfections. Living as a "perfectionist" is not good for yourself, your family, or your
friends.
Three, learn to celebrate "excellent" mistakes. You will make mistakes; we all do. But when you
make one, especially a big one, recognize it as being so excellent that you want to remember
not to make it again. To celebrate it means to inject a little humor into your guilt so that
you can laugh at yourself and invite others involved to laugh with you. Such celebration helps
you emerge as the victor instead of the victim.
Four, eliminate "if only" from your vocabulary. When we indulge in the use of "if onlys," we are
simply trying to dodge our responsibility for a problem. Decide never again to begin a sentence
with "if only." Substitute the word, "because." Here’s an example:
"Because I am in charge of my life, I will not allow this problem to throw me."
Five, refuse to blame other people for your problems. How you react to what
other people do and say is more important than what they do and say. You cannot control
what other people do; you can decide how you will respond to their behavior. Accept the
fact that sometimes you are your own biggest problem, so give other people a break and work on
yourself.
Six, accept the imperfections of other people. Doing this will help you not to
blame them when things go wrong. Take for granted what is obvious. Because other
people are like you and me, then will sometimes say things that are insensitive and stupid.
Do others the same favor you do for yourself: accept the fact that we are imperfect people
living in an imperfect world. When others do not measure up to your expectations,
remember this and relax. It is perfectly alright to be wrong sometimes.
Seven, live no day without laughter. Humor is so important that we must look for
it constantly. If you are having a really bad day, find something funny you can share with
others to get a good laugh. Wait until next week to unload your troubles on those around
you. Here is an example of what I mean:
A grandmother was sick and in bed. Her five-year-old grandson fixed her a cup
of coffee. It tasted awful but she forced it down because she loved the boy. As she was
sipping the last of the cup, she noticed two little green plastic soldiers in the bottom of
her cup. "Why on earth are these things in my coffee," she asked with exasperation.
"You know, grandmother," he said, "it’s like on TV -- ‘the best part of waking up
is soldiers in your cup’!"
Eight, smile and move on when people rain on your parade. There is always
somebody around who feels compelled to put a damper on anything you say. Explain
that you bought something at a bargain and someone will say that you paid far too much
for it. In this situation your best response is a smile. Move on and forget it. Don’t let
the "wet blanket" crowd spoil your fun -- or your attitude.
Nine, if you are prone to fuss a lot, stop complaining. It is a choice you can make
so do it. Think about this: nobody ever wakes up in the morning and says, "Boy, I sure
hope I run into somebody today who is complaining." Instead people would rather not
run into you if you are constantly fussing about something. So do yourself a big favor
and stop fussing so much.
Ten, when the bottom falls out of your life, pray for spring. Remember that winter
doesn’t last forever. Bad times, winter times, come to us all. But things have a way of
changing, like the seasons of the year. When it is wintertime in your life, hang on, for
spring will come!
So there you have it -- ten principles that can help you be the best that you can be.
They are not easy principles to live by, but I know they can help because daily they are
helping me.