Take control of your life

@TheRayCenter #CharacterCounts
From our guest contributor Michael Josephson.

When Jason, a construction worker, took a sandwich out of his lunch bag, he looked at it and threw it on the ground yelling, “Bologne again! I hate bologne.”

A co-worker said, “If you hate baloney so much, just ask your wife to make you something else.”

Jason replied, “That’s the problem. My wife didn’t make the sandwich. I did.”

Lots of people continually make their own baloney sandwiches and then act as victims when it’s time to eat them. It’s like the man who killed his parents and had the audacity to demand mercy because he was an orphan.

The bologne sandwich is a metaphor for things we do to ourselves that make our lives tougher. Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

For some, the problem is personal relationships. Thus, intelligent people driven by loneliness, sexual attraction, irrational romanticism, or a rescue mentality disregard their good sense and core values by repetitively getting involved with people who are bad for them.

Others have bologne or dishonorable bosses or unfulfilling or demeaning jobs. Sooner or later, unhealthy relationships and unrewarding jobs will become intolerable.

Thomas Huxley said, “Logical consequences are the scarecrows of fools and the beacons of wise men.” In other words, every mistake can make us more afraid or wiser.

If you don’t like bologne sandwiches, take control of your life — identify the values that are really important to you and don’t compromise them.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

michaeljosephsonMichael Josephson is an influential and internationally renowned champion of character education for youth and ethical conduct in business, government, policing, journalism, sports, healthcare and law. He is credited by many as the person most responsible for reviving and professionalizing the character education in school and youth-serving organizations. In 1992, under the auspices of the Josephson Institute he created CHARACTER COUNTS!, the world’s most widely implemented character development initiative based on a common language of shared values – the Six Pillars of Character) and Pursuing Victory With Honor (1996), a companion program promoting ethics in sports.

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