Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 424 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

15 Practical Guidelines to Live By

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 24 of our trek, and today is Motivation Monday. Every Monday we hike the trails of life that will encourage and motivate you to live a rich and satisfying life this week. Today we will explore 15 Practical Guidelines to Live By.

We are broadcasting from our studio at Home2 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The day this episode originally airs will be Labor Day in the United States, which is a day set aside to remember the working class laborer who has been an integral part of the building our country. We will also be heading back to Marietta today for a week. Paula is having a few of her Charlotte area friends up to The Big House for a quilting outing and to watch the fireworks at Marietta’s annual Sternwheel Festival. Since Marietta is built on the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, sternwheelers and river traffic have been a big part of the town’s heritage. The fireworks display on Saturday night rivals the best displays anywhere. We usually try to make it to the festival when possible.

It is great to be able to get together with friends and family and share life together. This is usually fairly easy to do for most of us. What is not as easy is to treat other people well who may not like or who do not treat us well. As I was thinking about this, it brings to mind what the words that Jesus spoke that we refer to as “The Golden Rule,” and it motivated me to list some tips that may help all of us. As we break camp and head out on today’s trek let’s look at…

15 Practical Guidelines to Live By

As part of Jesus’s teaching one principle that is hard for all of us to grasp is to love those who do not love us, and yet as much as humanly possible we should endeavor to do so. In Luke 6:27-31 Jesus said, “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.”

The last verse, “Do to others as you would like them to do to you,” is considered “The Golden Rule,” and all of us like to think we follow it. But do we follow the verses that precede it? I love the simplicity of the Golden Rule, and a closely related verse that sums up the entire Bible, which is Galatians 5:14, “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'”

It’s true. The rule of treating others as you would want to be treated in their place will ultimately lead to your own happiness. Let’s say that you apply the Golden Rule in all of your interactions with other people, and you help your neighbors, you treat your family with kindness, you go the extra mile for your co-workers, you help a stranger in need, you even help those who have not been kind to you.

Now, those actions will undoubtedly be good for the people you help and are kind to…but you’ll also notice an interesting result. People will treat you better. Beyond that, though, you will find a growing satisfaction in yourself, a belief in yourself, and knowledge that you love yourself properly and are making an impact on your world as you are creating a living legacy.

The truth is, on a day-to-day basis, living by the Golden Rule will make you a better person, will make those around you happier, and will make the community you live in a better place.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at 15 practical guidelines to live by each day.

1. 1. Practice empathy. Make it a habit to try to see the world through the eyes and mind of others –any person, loved ones, co-workers, and people you meet on the street. Really try to understand to the extent that you can, what it is like to be them, what they are going through, and why they do what they do.
   2. Practice compassion. Once you can understand another person and feel what they’re going through, then you can take even a small action to help them in some way.
   3. How would you want to be treated? The Golden Rule doesn’t necessarily mean that you should treat someone else exactly as you’d want them to treat you. It means that you should try to imagine how they want to be treated and do that. So when you see through the eyes of others, ask yourself how you think they want to be treated. Ask yourself how you would want to be treated if you were in their situation.
   4. Be kind. When in doubt, follow this guideline. It’s always good to be kind toward others. Of course, there may be times when others won’t react properly to your kindness, and you should be aware of that. You should also be friendly within the bounds of appropriateness. Who doesn’t like to be treated with kindness and feel welcomed and appreciated?
   5. Be helpful. This is one of the weaknesses of our society. Sure, there are many people who go out of their way to be helpful, and that is great. But most of us have a tendency to keep to ourselves and to ignore the problems of others. Don’t be blind to the needs and troubles of others. Look to help even before you’re asked.
   6. Be courteous in traffic. This is another weakness of our society. Think of the many times when we are selfish when we’re driving. We don’t want to give up the right of way, we cut people off, and we honk and curse. We feel that where we are going is more important than the other drivers. Perhaps it’s the isolation of the automobile. Most people don’t act that rude in person. So be courteous in traffic.
   7. Listen to others. Another weakness is that most people love to talk, especially about themselves, but very few of us want to listen. We all want to be listened to, so turn that around and take the time to actually listen to another person, rather than just wait your turn to talk. It’ll also go a long way to helping you understand others.
   8. Overcome prejudice. We all have our prejudices, whether it’s based on skin color, attractiveness, height, age, gender, ethnicity, or religion. Try to see each person as an individual human being made in the image of God with different backgrounds, needs, and dreams. Try to see the commonalities between you and that person, despite your differences.
   9. Stop criticism. Most of us have a tendency to criticize others, whether it’s people we know or people we see on television. However, ask yourself if you would like to be criticized in that person’s situation. The answer is almost always “no.” So hold back your criticism, and instead, learn to interact with others in a positive way.
   10. Don’t control others. It’s also rare that people want to be controlled. I know that I do not. So don’t do it with others. This is a difficult thing, especially if we are conditioned to control people. But when you get the urge to control, see yourself through their eyes. You would want freedom, autonomy, and trust, wouldn’t you? Give that to others then.
   11. Be a child. The urge to control and criticize is especially strong when we are adults dealing with children. In some cases it’s necessary during the formative years. Disciple them with love. Remember what it was like to be a child and to be criticized and controlled. You probably didn’t like it. How would you want to be treated if you were that child?
   12. Start each day right. Put a note on your mirror or refrigerator, or email yourself a daily reminder of “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” Repeat it throughout the day and have a pop-up reminder so that it becomes part of the very fabric of your life.
   13. Rise above retaliation. We have a tendency to strike back when we’re treated badly. This is natural. Resist that urge. The Golden Rule isn’t about retaliation, in fact, the verses preceding teach us the opposite. It’s about treating others well, despite how they treat you. Does that mean you should be a doormat or be physically or emotionally abused? No, you have to protect yourself from spiritual, emotional, and physical harm, but you can do so in a way where you still treat others properly and don’t strike back just because they treated you badly first. Remember Jesus’s wise (but difficult to follow) advice to turn the other cheek.
   14. Be a change agent. Gandhi famously told us to be the change we want to see in the world. We often think of that quote as applying to grand changes, such as poverty, racism, and violence. Our changes may result in that, but it starts on a much smaller scale with all the small interactions between people. Do you want people to treat each other with more compassion and kindness? Then let it start with you. Even if the world doesn’t change, at least you have.

   Notice how it makes you feel. Notice how your actions affect others, especially when you start to treat them with kindness, compassion, respect, trust, and love. But also notice the change in yourself. Do you feel better about yourself? Happier? More secure?  Or more willing to trust others now that you trust yourself? These changes come slowly and in small increments, but if you pay attention, you’ll see them..

Today on our trek we explored 15 Practical Guidelines to Live By based on the Golden Rule. Take time to apply them to your life and see how it changes you and the impact that you have on your world.

Tomorrow’s short trek is part of our Wisdom Unplugged series that we are now hiking on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These 2-3 minute wisdom supplements will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise throughout the entire week. So, encourage your friends and family to join us, and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

That will finish our trek for today. As you enjoy your daily dose of wisdom, we ask you to help us grow Wisdom-Trek by sharing with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person when you meet with them and invite them to come along with us each day.

If you would like to listen to any of the past daily treks, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. Don’t forget to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek so each trek will be downloaded to you automatically. I would also appreciate it if you would rate and review us on iTunes or Google Play so that others will find out about Wisdom-Trek and join us.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you on Monday!