Inner Code

I believe everyone should have and follow an inner code to live by. Not having a code or inner set of rules to follow can lead to chaos. Regulating a proper response to any situation can make life easier. This is known by many names such as the law, rules, policy, a system, and a code. It doesn’t matter what anyone calls it because the fact is that there are still codes in life that everyone must follow. Whether forced on us, learned, or made up, every one of us has at least a few codes they follow.

Most codes and rules are forced on us the day we are born. Governments, schools, businesses, and even are parents and family all pressure us into following their codes. Many of these codes are good for us yet there are many others that are a matter of personal choice. Most inner codes fall within the personal choice category.

Everyone has a different option on what’s right and wrong. Not all laws and rules are justified 100% of the time. This is where an inner code becomes necessary and personal choice comes into play. Everyone learns right and wrong in a different manner and must make up their own inner code based on past life experiences.

Life experiences are what force us to follow our own inner code in order to keep us from making repeated mistakes in life. Not having an inner code when it is needed is the time that most people wish that they had one. It’s never too late to make one but never forget that it will be way too late to get one once you need one.

Excepting Responsibility

It seems that a lot of people don’t want to accept responsibility for their actions. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t witness this first hand or at least hear about it happening. Blaming others for your actions is a way of never having to admit that you did anything wrong. I think people feel they must do this in order to make themselves feel confident in their daily decisions. This is wrong in many ways yet for most people it is part of their everyday lives.

I never really thought about why not excepting responsibility was wrong until I had kids. When my kids reached a certain age they wanted answers to why things are the way the way are. I would tell them when they did something wrong that they had to tell me about it and they would answer with the simple question of “why”. As a parent, I realized that the answers I gave them would mold them into the adult they would become. It was then that the true meaning of why not accepting responsibility came to me. If you never admit that you did anything wrong then you will never learn from your mistakes.

Mistakes happen for a reason, which makes it ok to make a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes at one time or another. How mistakes are dealt with is the key to avoiding making the same mistake twice. After all, that’s why we study history. Always try to remember that when a mistake is made excepting responsibility is the only correct way to deal with it or another mistake will be made.

Someone to Depend On


Something everyone needs, but can’t always count on, is someone to depend on. From birth we are destine to depend on others for many different things. Certain people can be counted on for certain things at certain times. There are many different reasons to depend on others. Many may count on you, just as you count on them. Nobody is one-hundred percent dependable accept the voice inside that you call yours.

No matter how hard someone tries, they can never be one-hundred percent dependable. It seems strange that we all know this yet we still put our faith in others to be there when we need them. Having someone reliable will make for a good life and is the main reason most people don’t lose faith in others. This is not always the case once trust is lost.

When dependability is lost, trust and faith go with it. Many realize that some can only be trusted for certain things. Most of the time, it’s just the beginning of a total loss of faith. A decline in dependability is usually the signal that flags are defenses into action. There is only one person that will always be there and can never leave.

The one you silently talk to and depend on everyday is the only one who will be there every single day. Have faith in the reliable one that’s always by your side. You may know this person by the three different names but only you will know their name. Me, myself, and I are the ones who never leave. Never forget that they are permanently by your side and that you will always have someone to depend on.

Stress


Something in everyone’s life that nobody enjoys is the stress of everyday life. Some are lucky enough to have very little of it in their lives, while others can’t seem to hide from it. There are many different ways of dealing with it but very few that can totally cure it. The more you relax the faster it can sneak up on you and remind you that you must always keep your guard up in order to defend against it. Since you can’t stop it, the best you can hope for is learning to control it or at least minimize its affects.

Letting things not get to you can be a good start to dealing with stress but can also be something that could potentially blow up on you at a later time. Pretending it will go away is a tactic that will make things much worse when stressful problems reach their boiling point. Dealing with problems before they escalate is a solution that most must learn on their own. Once learned, it seems to be an effective way of minimizing the intense stress that most of us hate.

Minimizing stress is a very good way of controlling the intensity of this permanent parasite. Since it will never leave for good, the best solution is to meet it head on. Having the confidence to do so will give any outcome the feeling of doing what was necessary to alleviate the situation. Controlling the intensity of how stress affects each person is the best anyone can hope for. Looking ahead in life can help foresee potential situations that could minimize stress, far in advance of its arrival, and that’s the best anyone could hope for when dealing with stress.

Responsibility


There comes a time in everyone’s life when the time to become responsible suddenly stares them in the face. It starts at a very young age and becomes more intense the older you get. Sometimes it can be a seemingly small situation and other times it can be a life changing event. There are many different approaches to take when faced with it, yet it seems to never leave you alone. Growing up, we all learn what responsibility is but most don’t realize while they are young that it is something that must be dealt with their whole lives. Making the decision of when to take action and having the motivation to do so are the forces that must go hand in hand with responsibility.

The decision of when to take action depends on many different factors that can be different for every individual. How you grew up, the type of person that you have become, and the ramifications of the aftermath can all take its place in the decisions made for any responsible action. Some decisions will be very clear and others will balance between right and wrong. The answer can only be found from within.

Motivating yourself to become more responsible is one of the biggest factors in becoming a more responsible person. Without the will to become responsible it very seldom happens. Responsibility is a choice and motivating yourself to make the right choice is the key to success. When motivation moves in it should not be just for personal reasons but rather for doing the responsible thing that yourself and others can also respect.

Responsibility can be done at many different levels that all depend on who you are inside. Not making responsible decisions can have consciences that not only affect your personal life but can also affect the people around you. Motivating yourself to make responsible decisions is the key to success and should never be forgotten.

Motivation


There comes a time in everyone’s life when motivation is hard to come by. The will to motivate seems to hover at different levels for the numerous times it is needed. Finding the correct formula to motivate yourself is a seemingly impossible task at times yet for some reason most people have no problem motivating others. Motivation is the key ingredient needed to make success and dreams become reality and must be captured in order to move forward.

Whether dreamt or foreseen, almost everyone knows where they would like their lives to settle at. It seems easy when you know where you want to be yet the will to stick will the path makes wondering into a ritualistic vacation. Resting after grinding down an endless path has a healing affect that is a necessity but seems to have a draining effect on motivation.

The recipe for motivation is different for every person and situation. Some can only find it from deep within them self’s and others need help to pull it from within. When answers surface, motivation is more likely to ascend with them. Answers help light the path but not all paths will be clearly lit.

Whether life’s path is clear or pitch black, motivation is what fuels the force within to move forward. Finding which path to take is the beginning of the journey but motivation is what delivers you to your destination.

Recognized Actions



There comes a time in everyone’s life when the time for observing life passes and the time for action presents itself. Acton can take place in many ways as long as some type of action is taken. Timing can help but can also mean sure failure when not read correctly. When to act and what form of action to take can be the key to success.

Most people tend to act on the spur of the moment. In the right situation instant action is the only option. Every situation calls for a different time to act and much like life itself, timing is everything. Waiting until the perfect time after making a well thought out decision is the ideal scenario. The right time to act is hidden within every situation and must be discovered in the time frame that the situation has allowed. Sometimes help can be given but most of the time it is hidden within. Many of these hidden answers can be found within ones past. Much like timing, the right action to take is usually nearby.

Action and timing are bonded together in every situation. The timing of an action depends on the action itself and an actions success lies within timing. Every situation dictates the level and type of action one feels is necessary. Level and type are usually intertwined with ones past which makes success fall within the bounds of one’s past. Ones past experiences can force them to overreact or under react to the level of action needed.

Unsuccessful actions should never be considered a complete failure since failure will eventually lead to success. Never recognizing whether an action should be considered or not is the worst kind of failure. Some say it’s never too late to act but in reality the window left open may be slammed shut at any moments. Always remember recognized actions are the key to unlocking success.

Decisions


Decisions are a part of everyday life that will be made many times a day. Some can be put off until a later time but others must be made on the spot with no time to contemplate the repercussions. Sometimes not making a decision or not doing anything is the temporary answer to the problems we faces. No matter what the course of action decisions must be made. Whether good, bad, or put off until a later time they will always be a part of life.

Good decisions are what everyone hopes they will make their entire lives. Making the right decisions can make life into what dreams are made of. Self confidence and well being can be the direct result of making the right decision. Life will seem to be made for the taking when everything goes in a positive direction. The fear for making the wrong decision will drift to the back of one’s mind.

Bad decisions are what put the fear of deciding into everyone’s mind. Life changes to a seemingly uncontrollable disaster. Lack of control is what everyone fears when making decisions. Control can be very hard to take back when the wrong decisions are made. Only good decisions can relinquish the hold that bad decisions can imprison one with. Well thought out decisions can help neutralize the fear of making the wrong decision.

Putting off decisions can help make the right decision more easily accessible. Waiting to find the right answer to a problem is not always an option. Whenever possible, putting decisions off until they are well thought out seems to be the safer bet when gambling with life. Time can change a decision before it is ever made which can make putting off decisions into a bad decision in some circumstances. Putting off decisions is usually the first decision made when contemplating the possible results of any situation.

Whether good, bad, or put off decisions are part of life. Every individual life is different so no answer will be right or wrong for each person. Each individual will know after the decision is made whether it was a good or bad decision. No matter what decision is made everyone must live and learn from the aftermath of this everyday occurrence.

From The Beginning


Looking back on how my past has brought me to this point in life has made me realize it was not just the decisions I have made but also my surroundings that have brought me to where I am today. By my surrounding I mean, not just my direct surroundings, but also the time line I grew up in, the country, state and town, and my family. Family is whom you start your life with and is where ones destiny begins. When conceived you’re either lucky, content, or just plain screwed from the start.

Looking at these three choices, lucky seems to be the best but is it really the best. I’ve meet people that were born into what seemed like the perfect life. They never had to worry about money and always had everything they ever wanted. When I was younger I thought that someday having a life like theirs was what I wanted. Now I realize that being born lucky is not something I would have wanted in life. Why would I say that? Because never having to work for what you want makes a person weak in my opinion.

Just plain screwed from the start is the less wanted of the three. It seems to be the most common beginning for most people’s lives. Starting life with nothing and no breaks in life makes a person fight for everything they have. Self-confidence can be very hard to come by. Feeling trapped in a world that appears to be impossible to escape from. Money is not always the boundaries that entraps. Many situations can feel imprisoning enough to mark the boundaries of one’s life. Breaking through a seemingly impossible barrier will make a person feel like anything is possible yet the past will always remind them of the importance of every decision.

Growing up in a content life is the fulcrum point that balances between lucky and screwed. Advantages and disadvantages are in their hands and must be controlled by the holder of a content life. No one else can be blamed for failure but others can be credited for success. A person can truly control their life while sitting on the fulcrum of destiny.

No matter where one’s life begins, the future is controlled by ones level of inner strength. Only they can make the decisions that can control the start of a new beginning.

Invisible Rules


It seems that in todays fast pace world that the average person has two career options when it comes to being successful. Either getting a job and working your way up or going to college for certifications and degrees. Just getting a job first has its advantages, such as getting payed while you learn on the job. Another would be having set rules that are supposed to be enforced for all workers. Even though not all people have the same set of rules, there are still rules. College on the other hand definitely has many gray areas. Teachers tend to have their own individual sets of rules and systems for the different classes that they teach. Workers and students also have rules and expectations that they expect their employers and teachers to follow.

A lot of teachers and bosses don’t feel any responsibility towards these expectations. Workers have much less say in any type of rules unless they are part of a union. Students on the other hand should have more say in the way classes are conducted. After all, they are the customers and are paying for classes that are meant to prepare them for the skilled jobs they are working towards. I have heard the saying “the customer is always right” many times. In the case of teachers, this rule has got thrown out or flushed somewhere along the way. This doesn’t mean that teachers must conform to each student’s demands but that expectations of the class as a whole should be met. The expectations I am speaking of are what I feel most students expect when enrolling for a class.

In speech class I was told that speakers must not assume what an audience knows about their subject and must explain everything in detail. A lot of teachers just assume that students know everything about a class. Even when certain material wasn’t covered or even in that class’s book. If students knew everything before a class started then there would be no need for teachers. Another necessary expectation that teachers should be required to meet is that grades and feedback should be given in a timely fashion. Teachers that give little to no feedback or wait until the end of the semester are giving students anxiety about their unknown progress or lack of progress.


Not all teachers ignore these expectations. Most of the time it’s the students that don’t do what’s required of them. The difference is that students are paying to be in class and are penalized for not doing so. Just because many work places have misplaced standards doesn’t mean that students should have to be shuffled through college like an outdated assembly line. Rules and standards for student’s expectations shouldn’t be the unwritten invisible rules that they have ended up as. Instead they should be an overwhelming necessity.

METHODICAL FATE


Life seems to signal certain people down roads that are destine to be driven. Once steered towards, these paths in life seem impossible to veer from. When looked back on, most situations in life could have turned in another direction if done so at an earlier stage in life. Some seemingly destine paths, may have been avoided and never traveled. Other times in life people are repelled from a life changing route which later blocks the exhilarating conclusion of their dreams. Good or bad, forks in the road are an inevitable occurrence. Choosing your own fate is just a thought away. Most don’t realize that the quick casual decisions made today could have been a methodical move in the crossroads of destiny.

Crossroads are a repetitive theme in our map of fate. A flat endlessly straight highway is the smoothest less risky road but never slowing down to turn could have been the turn your dreams have yearned for. The safe route may look the best on the map but once traveled the return trip will be a less attainable destination. With safety, comes security and with security comes the feeling of entrapment. Detouring from the sanctuary of a controllable life appears to be the more hazardous venture but in fact may be the predetermined road that was designated for travel.

Whether chosen or forced, detours must be taken at one time or another. Choosing to do so can be self-fulfilling when all goes well yet dead ends are the sacrifice one gambles with. Wagers are made when fate is disguised. Educated guesses and trusting in ourselves are the only premonitions that will help foretell our fate. When road blocks occur we are given a choice of directions or forced into the unknown. The unknown destination is where true fate lies.

Never forget that no matter how hard fate pushes us, we are still left with numerous crossroads that can change our destiny. When all else fails, always remember the U-turn is there for all to try and turn fate around. We choose our own fate with the exception of when our fate is chosen for us. Destiny is controlled mostly by the decisions we make today. So never forget that the methodical decisions of yesterday are what propelled your fate into what it is today.

Seasonal Wonders


It’s that time of year again. Summer is over, now it’s time to get ready to move your life indoors. There are some outdoor winter activities that are fun to do but not as many as in the summer. Winter is the price we pay for not having as many things around that can kill us. Just think if summer never ended we would have malaria, alligators, killer bees, venomous snakes, poisonous insects, and sharks. Yes sharks, bull sharks have been known to swim hundreds of miles up fresh water rivers. I learned this last winter watching the Discovery Channel while waiting for summer to come. It’s just nature’s way of evening out the number of dangers we face. Would you rather wear extra cloths or face death in the form of animals and insects? See, winter is good for something.

Something most people don’t realize about winter is how it slows their fast paced lives down. Indoor life can be very relaxing. Long nights just seem made for sleeping in and watching TV. Facing the bitter cold in the heart of winter, makes your couch and a blanket into the best option you have. Even when you do go out in the winter it seems everything slows down. Traffic, people walking and wildlife all bring their lives down a notch. Quality time with others is at a premium. Maybe that’s why we haven’t moved somewhere warm to avoid winter. Everyone needs a time to wind down from life every once in a while but months at a time are way too extreme. If only winter was shorter and not as cold all the time.

I think most people that have felt a fifty below wind chill, have thought about what it would be like to never feel that painful feeling again. Just the thought of frost bite makes me realize how impossible it is to find the good in winter when I know what winter will bring in the upcoming months. Long boring nights filled with short freezing days. The steering feeling of knowing cabin fever is only a short time away. Shoveling heavy wet snow, just so I can get a small amount of traction in order not to break my neck walking to the car. Is it worth the trade off?

After hours of contemplation, I have come to the conclusion that winter sucks 95 percent of the time. The trade off is just not worth it. I would rather take my chances with the dangers associated with warm weather. I have always felt that way but feel the need to at least try to see the best in it. To me winter would be a nice place to visit from time to time, just not every day for months at a time. The only good I can seriously find in being stuck in another winter is that someday I will be able to just visit it. Until then I will never be able to shake the words that comes to mind when I think of winter “IT FREAKIN SUCKS”.

Starting Over


There comes a time in everyone’s life when a page is turned and a new chapter begins. Some have many more chapters then others but it comes down to the fact that they still have chapters. It makes no difference if they’re long or short because they are inevitable. Life would become too complacent without them. Just think of how your life would be if it never changed. The good part of it is that things will never get worse. The bad part is that things will never get better then what they are now.

Much like a bookstore there are many different subjects with many different chapters. Most people have started over at least a few times in their lives before they reach adulthood. Changing schools, friends, moving and jobs seem to be the most common. With time comes ease of transition but with age comes more repercussions with every decision. When failure is not an option, pages are added to the same endless chapter. Along with becoming an adult, comes the burden of making the best decisions for one’s self.

A person needs change in their life in order to make it ignite into what they have always dreamed it would be. Fear of making one’s life worse is the main reason most don’t even attempt to begin new life chapters. People must learn to trust their inner voice and take chances to better their life when the right time to do so presents itself. Fear of letting the opportunity blow by and living with regret is what fuels most people to make a decision while they still can. Balancing between failure and regret is a hopeless feeling. Stifled by anxiety because they are forced to foresee their own future and make a life changing decision. Deep inside the answer is waiting to be decoded and sent to the next page which is waiting to be turned.

Starting new chapters is something everyone is faced with at one time or another. The decision to do so lies hidden within. The place that is only meant for you and nobody else, the one only you can call yours. Some try to share this place with others but it must be self discovered before it can ever be dispensed. Places buried so deep that you yourself have yet to explore them. Way behind ones inner voice lies an unexplored sense. Beyond any traditional sense, it waits to be set free and honed to the sharp confident tool we need it to be. A tool so powerful, it can erase all doubt about what’s on the next page. New life chapters will give starting over the feeling of belonging in the journey of life.

Persistent Inheritance

Will the world ever run out of ideals to force on others? It doesn’t look like it will ever end with all the free time some people have. It seems the only way to get a law passed is to spend countless hours lobbying or spending lots of money for campaign donations. Since most Americans don’t have the time or money for lobbying, we end up bound by laws that we don’t agree with. Even in our so called free society we are forced to conform to the will of leadership. Sure we have the right to vote for the people running for office but why don’t we have the power to vote on all the issues. It’s almost impossible to find a candidate that you can agree with on all the issues. Even when you vote for someone, there is no guarantee they will vote the way they said they would. Since the people you vote for make the laws, misleading voters will never be against the law. If you made the law would you make something you do illegal?

Changes need to be made, but seem very unlikely to ever surface. A lot has changed since our government was constructed, yet are government has barely shifted since it was formed. There wasn’t anything even close to the internet back then. Do you think our government would be anything close to what it is now, if the internet was around back then? The technology to put the vote on every issue into the people’s hands has been around for a while now but has never illuminated through the red tape produced by our system. Letting citizen’s vote on all the individual issues would free up the politicians time to do what they were meant to do. What’s that you ask? That would be to put the laws we have chosen on paper.

Voting on issues should be a daily or weekly right for every single American. Only then will our government truly be run by the people. My vote would really count. Some smaller forms of government do let their residents vote on certain issues. Are we destined to have someone do our voting for us forever? I would like to think that someday things will change but I don’t see a solution any time soon. Until then I guess we will conform to the system that was handed down to us.

Leaving it all behind

I think there has to be a need for everyone to try and see the humor in life. If not for finding the humor in stressful situations, I think there would be much more violence in the world. Today’s fast paced world leaves little time for relaxing and forgetting the stress of everyday life. It’s almost impossible to know when to plan a time for letting it all go. It seems like when you're busy all the time, planning a time to relax is the only way it will happen. When starved for relaxation, it seems like a no brainer to try something different. Seeing stressful situations as humorous can make a bad situation into something that could end up being one that you will remember as a high point in your life. It could have the potential to make you realize that anger just makes things even more stressful.

Anger can not only affect you in a non healthy way but can also affect the people around you. Have you ever noticed that laughter can be very contagious? It’s very hard to be mad at someone that makes you laugh. Do you believe that a person’s mood can have an effect on the people around them? Karma is defined by me as whatever vibe you put out in the world reflects off others and comes back to you. I believe this is true and have proven it to myself on many occasions. A perfect example would be when someone aggressively confronts you in an angry manor. The first instinct you have is to defend yourself. This situation can soon anger you, but if someone initiates a conversation, in a friendly joking manor, you tend to let your defenses down and relax. Putting humor out into the world will only benefit the world as long as it is done in a good way. Humiliating someone else may seem funny at times but only sends negative energy into the world.

Sending positive energy and good vibes into the world has an almost magnetic effect on positive energy. Every situation you encounter could potentially become a positive one, if dealt with in a positive way. This can be very hard to do. Many people are set in their ways and use negative energy to make themselves feel better. Yes, anger can be a good stress reliever but can also come back to haunt you when you are having a good day. So even if a person’s negative actions don’t have repercussions right away, they can still ruin your day at another time and place. To me there is nothing worse than re-living a bad day.

Letting anger and hostility control you is a sure way to secure the same stressful outcome every time. I think everyone has an image of who they want to be, echoing inside their mind. It’s just a matter of pointing this reflection of yourself in the right direction. A reflection only needs a small eyelet to glimmer through. Laughter is the counterpart to stress and anger. It needs only a small breach to seep out and induce you into leaving it all behind.