Your Daily Decisions Shape Your Destiny

 by Donna May

A clerk makes a mistake and charges you less than the established price. What do you do? Do you call it to her attention and pay the greater amount? Or do you secretly celebrate getting the goods for less?

A donation is mistakenly written in your name when it should have been written to the organization you represent. Do you keep the check or do you see that the mistake is rectified? How we respond in these situations is based on how we see ourselves. If we are truly people of integrity, we will correct the mistake. Keeping the money would not be in harmony with our view of ourselves as honest people. It is in these moments that we reveal our identity. As Neale Donald Walsh, author of Conversations with God, reminds us, “Every act is an act of self-definition.” Not only do our actions reflect our identity, but they also shape our identity. Identity consists of the beliefs that define our own individuality and what makes us unique from others.

One day I was reflecting on some of the ideas that Walsh had written about, when a car cut in front of me and speeded into another lane. Instead of reacting with anger, I decided to try Walsh’s suggestion. I told myself, “that driver’s behavior is not who I am.” Wow, I wasn’t angry! That person had just given me an opportunity to define something about me. Doing this, changed my focus from his actions to myself.

A Course in Miracles tells us that we are all students and teachers to each other. Every person we encounter is giving us a chance to define who we want to be. When we observe another’s actions we can decide whether that behavior is one that we would want to emulate or reject. We do not have to make that person right or wrong, it is simply a matter of choosing whether that is a behavior we would want to repeat and have reflect who we are.

There are times when we may be unhappy with ourselves or our behaviors. It is in those moments that we recognize the need for change. We invite change because our awareness has grown and our present behaviors do not represent who we want to be. We must be willing to change anything in our lives that no longer fits the identity that we want to project into the future. In Conversations with God, God tells Walsh, “There is only one reason to do anything: as a statement to the universe of Who You Are.”

Just as our bodies are constantly changing physically, we are changing emotionally and spiritually. We do not need to stay locked into old concepts of who we were. The decisions that we made earlier created the life we have today. This is feedback. There are no failures. Only results. We can change our actions and consequently get different results. We need not beat ourselves up for not living up to the values that we hold today. We did the best we could with the awareness we had previously.

So, identity is subject to modification. Each moment through our actions and decisions we reveal ourselves. Are we going to act from the small self or the greater self?

Perhaps our real mission is to remember who we really are as spiritual beings and to act from that higher place.

At times we may put more importance on what others think of us, than we do of how we view ourselves. I found the following on The Daily Motivator website, very inspiring:

Who you know you are

Many of the good and valuable things you do will go unnoticed by everyone else. Do them anyway, because you will know.

Many of the contributions you make will not be fully appreciated by others. Make them anyway, because they’re the right things to do.

It’s great when you receive recognition for the work you do and the high standards you maintain. Yet even when there is no possibility of recognition, there is still plenty of reason to give your very best.

Even when no one else is watching, you are watching. Even when no one else appreciates the value of what you’re doing, you understand that value.

Your honest, authentic view of yourself influences all that you do. And that view is formed largely during the times when no one is watching.

Be ever true to yourself and to the values you hold dear. Your life is a living expression of who you truly know you are.

Ralph Marston

Donna May MA Ed, is a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Stress Management, Pain Relief Specialist, practitioner of NLP, Reiki and Yuen Energetics. She utilizes spiritual principles and “A Course in Miracles” teachings. Available for classes, public presentations or private consultations. (248) 626-4859 or DonnaMay27@comcast.net.