Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 170 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

5 Trails to Hike to Get Over Yourself #2

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 170 of our Trek, and yesterday we explored trails 1-3 of the 5 trails needed to get over yourself so you can trek on in life. Today we will complete trails 4 and 5.  If you miss any of our Wisdom-Trek episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. After a relaxing, but productive weekend, the work week is full with activities that we need to wrap up before heading back to Marietta at the end of this week. Leaf harvest will keep us busy for a few days when we return to the Big House. We will remain in Marietta through the 1^st week of December. The days, months, and years are rapidly passing us by. I have to continually remind myself to slow down and enjoy the journey.

5 Trails Hiked to Getting Over Yourself So You Can Trek On With Your Life

Let’s review the introduction from yesterday’s exploration of trails 1 -3 to refresh your memory. If you did not trek with us yesterday, please listen to Day 169 before proceeding with us today so that you will experience the entire trek that we are taking.

Have you ever noticed that life just happens? It just does. And yet we spend so much time trying to control what happens in our lives, micro-managing how it happens and then telling everyone else what they should do to control and manage their lives that often we miss the point of what we are actually experiencing in ours.

The question is why do we expend so much energy trying to control things we really have no control over. At the end of the day, isn’t it just exhausting?

Life is actually quite simple. We have two choices in any given situation, circumstance, or event. We can be a victim and believe that things are happening to us, that we have no control over our situation, and blame others for the injury we have suffered. Or, we can start taking responsibility for our own lives, our own thoughts, our own words, and our own actions and decide that regardless of the injury, we are going to choose to live life on our own terms, powerfully.

In our society, we are supported, encouraged, and even rewarded for being victims. And yet, does being a victim ever feel good? Not usually. Being a victim tends to make us feel weak, vulnerable, and powerless. And these feelings in turn can lead to depression, frustration, and uncertainty.

The difference between taking responsibility for ourselves when life throws us a curve ball versus being a victim of a situation is that we become far better equipped spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and many times even physically. We stop allowing energy vampires to suck the life out of us, and rather than feeling powerless, depressed, and frustrated, we are able to experience our situation as an opportunity to test our superpowers of strength, positivity, clarity, and focus.

If you are sick and tired of feeling frustrated, drained, like you just can’t get a break, and are ready to get over yourself and on with your life, here are a few guidelines for living life on your own terms.

Yesterday we hiked the first three trails which were:

1. Stop blaming everyone else.

2. Your life is your responsibility.

3. Things are not always as they seem.

Today we will hike the final two trails.

4. Acknowledge your feelings.

Feelings are simple, really. We like things that make us feel good – love, affection, romance, acknowledgment…We don’t like things that make us feel bad – frustration, anger, sadness, hurt…

Of course, if we didn’t know what one felt like, how would we recognize the other? How could we know if we were in a good mood if we didn’t know what it felt like to be angry or upset? We deny he feelings we don’t like, stuffing or rationalizing them away. We do anything we can to avoid really acknowledging them and hope that it limits our discomfort.

Here’s the thing. Feelings, pain, and discomfort (physical, mental or emotional) are like a little kid pulling on your pant leg to get your attention.

If you have kids, you understand. If you don’t, go spend a day with a 3 or 4 year old.

When a child wants your attention, they do not really care what is going on in the rest of your life at the moment. They are not maliciously trying to upset you or irritate you. They are attempting to bring your awareness to a situation that needs attention.

Once you give them your full, undivided attention, they feel acknowledged and heard and move on to greater adventures with more fun until the next time.

Feelings are exactly like that! They are designed to increase our awareness of our experiences and help us determine how we want to live our lives. Acknowledge them as they come up and remember, tears are nothing but a little bit of water that is a release of those emotions.

1 John 3:19-21 encourages, “Our actions will show that we belong to the truth so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.”

5. Say what you mean.

In challenging situations, are you more concerned with wanting to be “nice” than saying what you’re really thinking? Are you afraid if you say what you really mean someone else might be offended, hurt, or feel discounted?

Saying what you mean doesn’t mean you’re a jerk and being nice doesn’t necessarily require saying more. When we default what we’re really thinking and feeling for the sake of being nice to others, we compromise ourselves. (Come on, be honest. we’ve all had those moments after a situation when we’ve kicked ourselves and come up with at least 3 responses of what we should have said).

Try this. Take a current situation you have challenges in communicating. Write out what you want to say. Now see if you can write that same explanation or communication out in 10 words or less.

Eliminate the fluff and get to the heart of the matter. It may be a little challenging at first, but the more you practice, the better you will get.

Life is what we choose to make of it, and often we must be willing to get over ourselves in order to get on with the business of truly living our lives.

Proverbs 17:27 reminds, “A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.”

The trails that we hiked yesterday and today are very rough trails to navigate. We have to encounter situations about ourselves that are not easy. We need the endurance to carry on, even if we do not feel like it. It will allow us to grow and mature so that we can reach our full God-given abilities. The life lessons that we learn each day are valuable to everyone we meet. So, encourage your friends and family to join us each day and come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy as we discover the difference between infecting or affecting others that we impact.

Also, we have a new service available. If you would like to be added to our weekly email update for Wisdom-Trek, just text the word “Wisdom” to 44222 on your phone, and you will receive a message asking for your email address. It is very quick and easy to do.

That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom on Wisdom-Trek.com, or subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Spreaker, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or YouTube so the episodes will be downloaded to you automatically each day. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

The journal for today’s Trek can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com. Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!