Inspirational Sunday

Bill Witcher, co-founder of Computer School for Seniors will be sharing words of encouragement, inspiration and hope with you each Sunday.

Have a Successful Day

A successful day is a matter of choice. And sometimes, with so many different things going on in our lives and so many people entering our lives (some uninvited), it's hard to make the right choices. It's tough to have a successful day. All of us have had days (sometimes weeks, even months) when it seems nothing is going right. I've had a few of those days this past week. We struggle. We get sad. We get discouraged. We get down. What do we do? How do we pick ourselves up and get back on the right path?

John C. Maxwell is a New York Times bestselling author who offers some very practical advise in his book Today Matters. He helps me get back on track by reminding me of some practical steps to take which involves determining to make good decisions. Now that's easy to say. We all know it is not that simple. But he helps clarify what he means by identifying 12 important areas of our life and making a recommendation on each of these important areas.

OK, let's look at these 12 areas that we all deal with and see what he says about each one:

Attitude: Choose and display the right attitude daily.

Priorities: Determine and act on important priorities daily.

Health: Know and follow healthy guidelines daily.

Family: Communicate with and care for my family daily.

Thinking: Practice and develop good thinking daily.

Commitment: Make and keep proper commitments daily.

Finances: Make and properly manage dollars daily.

Faith: Deepen and live out my faith daily.

Relationships: Initiate and invest in solid relationships daily.

Generosity: Plan for and model generosity daily.

Values: Embrace and practice good values daily.

Growth: Seek and experience improvements daily.

Now I think, John Maxwell's life is a little more busy each day then mine. That's quite a list. I'd be tired at the end of the day. But I don't think he is telling us that we must do all of these things every day. He's telling us to decide in our heads and our hearts how we should handle each of these areas and then when they arise we can manage them properly.

In other words, make the decision once that you are going to have a positive attitude, that you are going to be a generous person, that you are going to try and grow and improve. You can settle an issue once and for all, and you won't have to revisit it daily. It will become a part of you.

That's a good idea for two reasons: it takes the emotion out of the decision and it makes managing your life easier.