Abundant Life

                Families, communities, and nations are strengthened when adults teach the rising generation about how to live an abundant life.  The world today teaches children, youth, and adults how to rely on others for their well-being, and those who believe the world do not find success.  There are very few people who become successful without learning some of the steps from someone else.  That someone else should be parents, but teachers and other adults can be valuable resources.

                I recently accepted a new assignment to serve in the employment office for our region in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I quickly learned that the people who come into our office are those who do not know how to be successful and/or who have made some very poor choices in their past.  One young man apparently spent some time in prison because he was with the wrong people at the wrong time, and his friend used a gun to steal a car.  Another young man spent twenty years in prison because he was with the wrong kind of friends when a murder took place and did not try to stop it.  I think of these men as “young men” even though they are currently in their late thirties.  Because they are both felons, they will never be able to pass a background check and therefore will have to take whatever jobs they can find.  I know a third man about the same age who got hooked on drugs and has a record with the legal system because he supported his habit by stealing.  He is trying hard to straighten out his life but is fighting an uphill battle.            These cases touched me deeply because the men are about the same age as some of my children.  I am grateful beyond measure that my children chose the road to success rather than take the lower road.

                The following comparison is titled “The Success Indicator” and is attributed to MaryEllen Tribbey.  I found it very interesting and very true.  I believe the information in the comparison is well worth some pondering and should be taught to the rising generation.  I have a copy of this list where I can see it often and see some characteristics where I need more work.  How about you?

Successful People                                                  Unsuccessful People

Have a sense of gratitude                                         Have a sense of entitlement

Compliment                                                             Criticize

Forgive others                                                          Hold a grudge

Give other people credit for their victories             Take all the credit for their victories

Accept responsibility for their failures                    Blame others for their failures

Read every day                                                        Watch TV every day

Keep a journal                                                          Say they keep a journal but don’t

Talk about ideas                                                       Talk about people

Want others to succeed                                            Secretly hope others fail

Share information and data                                       Horde information and data

Keep a “to-be” list                                                    Don’t know what they want to be

Keep a “to-do/project” list                                       Fly by the seat of their pants

Set goals and develop them into plans                      Never set goals

Exude joy                                                                  Exude anger

Embrace change                                                         Fear change

Continuously learn                                                   Think they know it all

Operate from a transformational perspective          Operate from a transactional perspective

                The beginning of a new year  - or day or week or month – is always a good time to take inventory of where we are at the current time and if we are on the right “road” to reach the “destination” we desire.  Did you make some resolutions or set some goals for this new year?

                President Thomas S. Monson gave the following counsel about how to live the abundant life.  “At the advent of a new year, I challenge Latter-day Saints everywhere to undertake a personal, diligent, significant quest for what I call the abundant life – a life filled with an abundance of success, goodness, and blessings.  Just as we learned the ABCs in school, I offer my own ABCs to help us all gain the abundant life. 

                “Have a Positive Attitude.  A in my ABCs refers to attitude.  William James, a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher, wrote, `The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.’

                “So much in life depends on our attitude.  The way we choose to see things and respond to others makes all the difference.  To do the best we can and then to choose to be happy about our circumstances, whatever they may be, can bring peace and contentment….

                “We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.  For maximum happiness, peace, and contentment, may we choose  a positive attitude.

                “Believe in Yourself.  B is for believe – in yourself, in those around you, and in eternal principles.  Be honest with yourself, with others, and with your Heavenly Father….  You can achieve what you believe you can.  Trust and believe and have faith….

                “Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do.  Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities.

                “You can achieve what you believe you can.  Trust and believe and have faith.

                “Face Challenges with Courage.  C is for courage.  Courage becomes a worthwhile and meaningful virtue when it is regarded not so much as a willingness to die manfully but as a determination to live decently….

                “Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one’s coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.

                “Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required…” (“Living the Abundant Life,” Liahona, January 2012). 

                Each of us can learn to do those things that will make us successful and give us the abundant life.  When we have internalized them, we can teach then these principles to the rising generation and strengthen our homes, communities, and nations.