What do you stand for? That is a simple question I read last week that has been on my mind, along with another issue that I will address later. As for what I stand for, I want specific, stable things that I am striving to represent every day of my life. So I made a shortlist explaining the sort of person I want to be identified as today. This list is with the apparent exception that I may have failed to live up to these things in the past, but in that process, I have realized the extreme value each possesses and why it is so important to know what you want to stand for. It defines who you are and the experience you have in life. More importantly, how my choices and behavior will positively affect others.

Choose to be Kind

Kindness- In all things, I would like service to be the first thing I practice. All people live their own lives and have their own experiences, and their actions and behavior are theirs. I can only control myself, and I would like kindness to be the first word someone thinks of when they think of me. In my experience, a lack of compassion arises when you put your needs ahead of everyone else, leading to fear and worry. Letting this go is easier than you might think. Through a practice of kindness, you will meet all of your needs, and you will make the world a little better place. Do you stand for kindness? I hope I do.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Honesty- A friend once told me that it is human to be dishonest. That may be so because we all seem to lie an awful lot. Small lies, big lies, manipulative lies are all a part of the package. I know that I have lived in my past, mostly out of fear that I might look wrong or, more often, to avoid hurting someone else’s feelings. But it has been a while since I have consciously told a lie because I don’t care what others think of me and what I do, and I care enough about everyone I know to say the cold hard truth. I want all people I deal with to know that what I tell them will be the truth to the best of my knowledge. I don’t think I can do better than that. All things seem to flow perfectly when the truth is told. Do you stand for honesty?

What You Do When Nobody is Watching

Integrity- Along with honesty is integrity. I will do what right all the time is. Not just when it is convenient or when others are around. I will do what is right because I am there, and even if nobody else knew of my transgression, I would know, and the energy from that failure would permeate the rest of my life and cause problems. I would instead behave with integrity and do what right and decent all of the time is. I want my conscious energy to be focused on being and doing the right thing. I will know it is the right thing because it will be in my heart. I am continually seeking guidance for proper guidance. Do you stand for integrity?

Smart is Best

Intelligence– I want to be represented by the idea that all things I do will at least have a general knowledge behind them. I can’t promise to be the most intelligent person in the world, but I can be as bright as I am capable of being. This idea means I am never satisfied that I know it all. There are new things to learn and new ways to grow until the ultimate end waiting for us all occurs. I endeavor to continually learn new things, expand my horizons, and become better today than I was yesterday, just a little bit. Do you stand for intelligence?

Be Positive or Go Home

Positive Attitude-In all things, you have a choice, to be positive or negative. To complain and give away all of your power or address all situations by feeling great about them. We all feel bad sometimes, but that doesn’t mean we need to accept that part of our attitude. It is a simple choice that determines the difference in your path. You look at the flaws of the things you perceive to be missing, or you are grateful for what you do have. We always have the choice to embrace the joy in a moment. I wish all days were perfect and full of easy things to be happy about, but they will not. Life will bring challenges for you to grow. It is up to you to accept the challenge and become better or shrink from it and become its negative, scared, fearful victim. I am hoping I always seek the lesson, am grateful for it, and approach things from the mindset of joy and opportunity. Do you stand for a positive attitude?

Let’s Work Together

Cooperation– People look at the world in two primary ways: cooperation or competition. When I was a young man, I loved playing sports, and I always thought the match was the thing to prove you were better than someone else. That missed the value entirely. The real lesson was that you could rise and become better as a collective through cooperation with your teammates than you were as an individual. Great things can be done cooperatively and far surpass the selfish things that competition brings. Looking back, I value all the people that I ever was a part of a team with at whatever level. There are many situations that, in some small way, work together to allow the group’s strengths to overcome the weakness we all have as individuals, and that plan is fantastic. I want to take that into every relationship I have, personally and in business ventures, always. Do you stand for cooperation?

Better Today than Yesterday

Improvement– In my life, I have noticed that either you are getting better or you are getting worse. It is sporadic to stay the same, even for a day. So it is my goal to improve 0.01% each day somehow, but on the best days, physically, mentally, and spiritually. If I can manage to do that, then I will be a better person today than yesterday and hopefully have a more positive effect on the world than before. You are going to change in some way. I am probably choosing to be better rather than getting worse. This is often a choice to seek the other things I stand for; this should happen naturally, but it is vital to set an example for others that is positive in a world full of bad examples. Do you stand for improvement?

So there is a shortlist that I could expand upon for many pages. Maybe this is the next book idea in some way. But for today, I wanted to state what I want to stand for to guide myself in life. To help me when I have questions about what I should do. I want to say yes or no based on the things that I stand for. What is it that you stand for, not just in words, but in thoughts and actions as well?

“Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.:- John Madden

“If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”- Peter Marshall

“You must stand for something! It does not have to be grand, but it must be a positive that brings light to someone else’s darkness.”- Anthony Carmona