So I was reading a friends blog, and it got me thinking. How do you react to adversity. Do you have a game plan that you have thought through? When something doesn't go your way, what is your first thought? This is something I believe is important to address. If we live our lives simply reacting to whatever adversity is thrown our way, what does that say about our character? How can I be defined as a person? Do I expect people to not be afraid of who I "might" be or how I might react if they do something that I don't like?

One of the principles that I try to live my life by is "Integrity." Which for me means I don't lead people astray, and I live my life in a consistent manner, not being one person around some people and another person around others. I define who I am, based upon what I value. Then I know who I am, because I have defined it. At this point I am able to internalize adversity and run it through the filter of "who am I?" and, "what do I value?" Then I can process what my gut reaction is and ask whether it is in line with my values, and adjust my actual response, if any, accordingly.

So I had something bad happen to me today, or I should say, I became aware of something that made me upset. My first internal gut reaction is to think of all the ways I could make the responsible party suffer. But when I run it through my filters, which are defined by the personal mission I have for myself, I change drastically. First, I regain the power. By deciding that I am not just going to react, I take back the power to run my own life, not allowing others to dictate when or how I will act. Second, I am able to choose to bless people. So while I may till follow a course that leads to a response to this issue, it will be done without mallace, and hopefully in a manner that diffuses the issue.

Well if you got this far, congraduations! :) I hope this helps someone as much as it has helped me. A little over a year ago, I had a conversation with someone about my desire to write down what I value and live by that(create a mission). They said that it was impossible to do and basically inferred that everything was out of ones control. I feel that for myself I have shown this to be wrong. Adversity still strikes, but my response is within my control.

Decide who you are!

Write it down!

Live it!

Live!