Principles for a successful life

Many talk about Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King but most of them do not put these people’s principles into practice. Martin Luther King’s principles were first, non violence, brotherhood, justice and morality.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Many talk about Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King but most of them do not put these people’s principles into practice. 

Martin Luther King’s principles were first, non violence, brotherhood, justice and morality. Overflowing unconditional love for all, including adversaries, needed for nonviolent conflict-resolution.

Dr. King called it "love in action…love seeking to preserve and create community…love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless and creative.

A successful life is a satisfying life. It is one where you are healthy, happy and fulfilled in your existence. Most people would like to lead such a life, but many think it is not easy to do. In fact, it is not that difficult.

Much of what happens to you in your life is a result of your philosophy or way of thinking and the principles you follow, as well as your attitude toward things.

All the above heroes had set their goals and were determined to achieve them through certain principles in life. In order to lead a good, well or satisfying life, you need a positive philosophy toward the major components in your life.

These components are your:

• Attitude
• Health: Physical, Emotional and Spiritual
• Communications: Sensing the world and Social interactions
• Knowledge
• Activities: Vocation and Leisure 

You can be good and attain satisfaction in each of these items leading to a happy and a healthy life. By taking care of your attitude, physical health, emotional health, spiritual health, social interactions, intellect, and vocation, you should lead a good life.

Success is not just reserved for a chosen few in life. Everyone has the capacity to be successful in every area of his or her life.

Once one has established what he wants in his life, it is therefore advisable to have a clear vision and carry it all at all times in his mind.

It is said that bad company corrupts good morals. To succeed in life, one has to stay away form any kind of negative influence and surround yourself with things that will boost your morale towards believing in yourself and in your success.

Speak out your affirmations in present tense as opposed to future tense and make a habit of repeating them. Writing down affirmations is even more effective. This helps your mind stay fixed and focused on your goals. This is also a good way to build your self confidence and deepen your beliefs.

In the book "Seven habits of highly effective people” by Stephen Covey states that ‘our character is a collection of our habits, and habits have a powerful role in our lives. Habits consist of knowledge, skill, and desire.

Knowledge allows us to know what to do, skill gives us the ability to know how to do it, and desire is the motivation to do it. Successful people maintain an attitude of gratitude.

It is always good to look back from where one has come from and be thankful to the people who stood by you and helped you become what you are today.

It does not matter the circumstances in which one is. Like for example Nelson Mandela had the passion to save his country and he liberated a country from a system of violent prejudice and helped unite white and black, oppressor and oppressed, in a way that had never been done before.

"Courage is not the absence of fear, it is inspiring others to move beyond it” that was one of Mandela’s principles.

Contact: karuthum@gmail.com