Life’s a Journey Not a Race

By Coach Mike

First, I want to thank everyone that came by the Kindness Rocks booth and decorated a rock. They are being placed throughout the village and already bringing a small bit of joy to your fellow neighbors. I also want to say thank you to the ones that have shared with me there love of reading these articles, it truly means a lot. I am glad that these words may inspire you to be a better version of yourself. Today I would like to share a story I found entitled “Life is a DYI project”.

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.”

What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived, graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, “Life is a DIY project.” Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

This past year I committed to a small project I nicknamed “project me”. The main reason for this project is because of a quote stated by Gandhi which I do my best to live by, “be the change you wish to see in the world.” One thing about change is that it is the only constant in life. The only thing you can truly change is yourself. Most often we look outside of ourselves for change; change our surroundings, change our job, change the people around us, etc... We have this delusion that by changing things outside we will be happy with ourselves. The thing that we must realize is that our outside world is just a mirror of our true selves. Life reflects back everything you say or do. If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence. If we want to change the world, we must first change ourselves.

I put things off that would make me better because I supplied myself with excuses such as; I don’t have time, it costs too much money, I’m not worth it, just to name a few. By living these excuses I was not living with integrity because I was not being the change I wished to see in the world.

An article written by So-Young Kang states that; the word integrity stems from the Latin word ‘integer’ which means whole and complete. So, integrity requires an inner sense of ‘wholeness’ and consistency of character. When you are in integrity, people should be able to visibly see it through your actions, words, decisions, methods and outcomes. When you are ‘whole’ and consistent, there is only one you. You don’t leave parts of yourself behind. You don’t have a ‘work you’, a ‘family you,’ and a ‘social you.’ You are YOU all the time.

Realizing that I was not living with integrity was an epiphany during my ongoing “project me.” I have always valued integrity and to realize that I was not living it was a humbling experience. What does it take to be someone who lives with integrity? Consciousness and choice. Here are six things that we can choose to do to be on a journey towards greater integrity:

1. Understand the true definition of integrity.
2. Intentionally reflect on what to say, how to behave, how to make decisions.
3. Be the same authentic person regardless of the situation.
4. Recognize the impact that you have on others.
5. Actively focus on the development of character and wholeness.
6. Enroll others to be on the same journey.

Life is a journey, not a race. The journey will continue…