When last have you taken time out to take stock of your life? Are you aware that every thriving enterprise does that? What about you? Are you satisfied with your life, where you are now and where it might be heading? What about the future? Are you planning for it? If perchance you are not totally satisfied with your life, what are you doing about it? If you continue to do the same things over and over again, everything will remain the same. Nothing will change until you do.
If a change in your life is warranted, why not begin by recognizing that your present situation is not the result of your genes, parents, education, job, luck, timing, health, or environment. Rather, it is the choices you have made and the actions you have taken that have brought you where you are today. Change your choices and actions and you will change the results that follow. This understanding is the first step in personal transformation. The second step is the action that follows for, as Dietrich Bonhoffer (1906 – 1945) wrote, “Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.” Are you ready to take that responsibility?
If you are, you just might be saying where should I begin? What action should I take? That is easy, start by taking a personal inventory.Every thriving business owner takes regular inventory of his or her stock. These inventories can be a useful business planning tool. They can reveal growth or decline in business productivity and possible obstacles to growth. They can assist business owners in making changes for a better future and it will do the same for you.
You see, as we get older, it behooves us to stop every now and then to take an inventory of our life. This will provide us with great insights that should help us to move forward. An inventory is a way of knowing what happened, what is happening and, most of all, what to look forward to in the future. It can help us answer some very pertinent questions about the direction our life is moving, such as: are we growing or declining in character development? Are we moving toward our life-goals, or are there hindering obstacles? Are we growing in our relationship with others and with God? And what changes do we need to make to move ahead more effectively.
Self-evaluation is a needed tool for improvement of one’s self. A person who does not practice self-evaluation risks the possibility of being deceived and of being destroyed. Without self-searching, we could not see ourselves in reality. We all have done, said and thought things that were unproductive, impolite and immature at times. All of us have strayed into behaviours that took us far away from whom God created and called us to be. We all have experienced regret and shame for the way we unfairly responded or mistreated other people at times, so a personal inventory can prove useful.
Another way to view the importance of an inventory is to look at your life from another perspective that is, by looking at your life by your number of years you have been around thus far. For instance, how old are you now? Are you happy with what you have accomplished thus far? What would you have done differently? What would you like to change moving forward? How many years lie between now and when you turn fifty or seventy? What would you like your legacy to be?
You see Psalm 90: 10 states, “The length of our days is seventy years — or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.” This means that we have an allotted time and we need to make the best use of our life before it comes to an end. There is still so much we can do and so much room for improvement.
It behooves each of us to take charge of our life or life will take charge of us. Every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory of how we are taking responsibility for our lives. Time is precious and our lives are valuable so we cannot afford to waste them away. We need to make our lives count on a daily basis.We must be willing to forgive those who have wronged us, and be willing to allow God to reshape our lives, to redefine our motives and to redirect our attention to look to him when we are tempted or tested in life.
It is wise to remember that, it is not how hard you fall — it’s how fast you get up that matters!
About the Author: Mrs. Marilyn Hodge owns and operates the Wellness Centre in the Farrington. The Centre offers Counselling Services by Appointment Only. Contact information: 476-3517 or email: marilynb@anguillanet.com
