Are You Who You Portray Yourself to Be?

All of life should be a pattern of being introspective about yourself, your friends, your career, and your children – bottom line you should always be in a place of looking back over every aspect of your life and life’s involvement and make the necessary adjustments required to further your personal mission in life. Being introspective simply means, looking inward and evaluating as well as re-evaluating, choices made and their outcomes, then assessing what you could do better the next time. Sometimes, better means not repeating the same destructive behavior that got you where you are in the first place. Introspection also allows for, no I say it demands, that you forgive yourself and others, so that you can have healthy relationships that span all areas and that you don’t spend your life, unfulfilled, angry, bitter, absolutely no good to yourself or others, because you can’t, I’d even venture to say, you won’t move on and quit living in your past!
Being introspective also means accepting criticism, yes sometimes even the harsh. I am not necessarily suggesting you should own it or walk around in life focused on what people think of you, simply evaluate what’s been said especially if it is something you have heard from several different people. Perfect simple example – if you have heard over and over again you sound just like a duck, subsequently you heard you walk just like a duck and further more you even talk like a duck, maybe there is validity to what is being said, and in actuality you are a duck. The point is don’t always be so quick to defend or deny what is being said about you, simply add that bit of information to the other things you are being introspective about and see if there is room or a need to make any necessary adjustments. You may not have a problem with being associated with a duck, just don’t get upset when labeled as one.
Being introspective also means you may have to perform open heart surgery. You should always be examining your motives, your actions, and your attitudes. If you say you love people, your actions should display that love to all people you meet and it should be done on a consistent basis, not when you feel like it. If you don’t love, what is really going on in your heart that may need to be surgically removed? Is it past hurts, past disappointments, lack of trust, or lack of feelings? Only through being introspective can you truly learn and understand why you do the things you do. If you say you are a Christian and yet nothing about you, except the outward trappings – I’m blessed, blessed of the Lord, the fish on your car bumper, your name on the local assembly role, your position in the local assembly (I am intentionally not saying the church because the church as defined in the Bible is the people not the building), the length of time you’ve been at the local assembly, and so on, is the only means by which one would know you are a Christian, the question begs are you really? If you want to truly have assurance to your final destination you may need to be introspective and make the necessary adjustments so your Christian walk is not based upon the outward, but the inward, the light that can be seen, which is Christ. Christians are admonished to not only be hearer of the Word but we are also to be doers.
Being introspective also means applauding your accomplishments that have brought about positive changes in your life! Accomplishments that have influenced as well as changed your immediate surroundings – your children, your co-workers, your family, your church, and your community. Introspection allows you to strive to be all that you can be (and not in the Army), encourages you to make those hard decisions, strengthens you to go the next mile, emboldens you to stand for what you believe, weaves confidence through your daily walk, assists you with standing firm within your heart that you are perfection in the making and that you are willing to continue to be pliable when needed, a leader when asked, a servant when the need is identified, and gives you peace that you are truly on the right track.
So don’t shun introspection, embrace it!!!

1 comment:

  1. Love it!!!!!!! I was just speaking with my friend today, and sharing with her that I was doing a self examintion. She told me about this blog. This is wonderful, thank you so much, your blog has truly been a blessing.

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