Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 169 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 #1

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 169 of our Trek, and yesterday we explored verses 15-23 of Proverbs Chapter 5. Today we are heading back out to the trails as we look for the 5 trails to getting over yourself so we can trek on in life. We will hike on trails 1-3 today. 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. Last week seemed to zip by too quickly, but we did have a great time with Kip on Saturday picking out materials for his quilt that Granny will be making for him. On Sunday, we had a good time of fellowship and worship at our local church. This is the first time we have been in Charlotte for the weekend for nearly two months, so it was a great time to be back.

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

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 we often 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.

1. Stop blaming everyone else.

Seriously, stop it. Stop giving your power away and blaming others for what is, or is not, happening in your life. Your life is not anybody else’s fault, and people are not doing anything to you. This reminds me of the old Bob Newhart episode clip where his diagnoses for all his patient issues was “Stop It.” You can view the clip here if you wish to watch it.

What you are experiencing is not somebody else’s fault. They may have had a hand in creating an uncomfortable experience, but YOU are the one who gets to decide how it goes from there.

Something better than Bob Newhart’s treatment though can be found in Colossians 3:13, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”

2. Your life is your responsibility.

How do you feel about your life right now? Are you frustrated with work? Do bad things frequently happen to you? Is physical or emotional pain keeping you from fully enjoying each day? Are you overwhelmed with so much to do that you procrastinate doing any of it? Well, what are you doing about it?

Larry Winget put it this way, “Stop expecting the world to rescue you. The Lone Ranger is not coming.”

There is no magic pill or knight in shining armor on a white horse coming to take you away or make all of the discomfort disappear. YOU are your own hero. Want control of your life? Then take the responsibility for it.

How you feel and what you think is reflected in how you speak (in the words that you use) and manifests itself in your world around you. Own your feelings, be truthful with yourself, and be willing to face reality squarely in the face so that you may make decisions that empower you and bring you joy.

If you lack joy and peace in your life, take responsibility for your actions and also call on God as is mentioned in Lamentations 5:21, “Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again! Give us back the joys we once had!”

3. Things are not always as they seem.

No matter how much we think we know, we don’t really know everything. We all base our experiences on our own perceptions which have been colored through our own lens of past events and observations and may or may not be the full truth of any situation.  This is called our paradigm. We perceive the world through the filters we have planted in our minds.

In Communion with God, Neale Donald Walsch writes, “Please temporarily give up any previous notions you have about God & Life…it is not about abandoning them forever but of merely setting them aside for the moment….to allow for the possibility that there may be something you do not know. The knowing of which could change everything.”

While we spend most of our lives accumulating knowledge so that we can determine our values and beliefs and live accordingly, the truth is that there is an entire world of experiences that exist beyond our knowing.

Everything happens for a reason – even if we do not know what the reason is at the time. That reason may be based on the decisions that you have previously made, which could be good or bad. But past decisions do not control the future forever. Keep an open mind and be willing to allow for that which you do not know. Sometimes the truth is far better than you ever could have imagined.

Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

Tomorrow we will hike the two remaining trails, which are the trails of:

4. Acknowledge your feelings.

5. Say what you mean.

The trails that we are hiking today and tomorrow are rough trails. 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 finish up this trek with trails 4 and 5.

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.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through this 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!