During week 12, we remind ourselves once again WHY we're on this journey ... and we commit again to staying ON the journey. Whether the journey is about recovery from addiction or the restoration of mental health and well-being, the stark reality is the same: Putting special focus on it for a few weeks and then drifting
away into the "next thing" will ultimately lead to failure. This is a lifelong quest, and we must keep our foot on the accelerator.
Today, we focus on why this journey is so important. The principle from Stoic Philosophy is stated as follows: "Our
Character Shapes our Destiny."
Do we really believe this? We like to think that we're just innocent victims of random circumstances and changes of fortune. Obviously we're all going to face our own unique struggles and
blessings. But the way we respond to them will shape whether our life gets better or worse.
This is why it’s so important to develop the virtues — positive character qualities — that we know will lead to long term success, happiness,
and godliness. As the Greeks understood, character is destiny. Not only did they see this as an interesting motivational talking point, they saw it as an immutable LAW.
Who you are on the inside -- the character you forge through your
choices, commitments, and habits -- will work its way out into your life. It will manifest itself in the quality of life you experience as you step into your future. For good or ill.
Listen to how Ryan Holiday puts it in a
recent newsletter:
The immutable, inescapable law of human existence comes to us from the Stoics through Heraclitus (one of Marcus Aurelius’ favorites): Character is fate.
After death and taxes, this is a timeless adage that the Stoics believed will determine our destiny whether we like it or not. And just a quick glimpse around the world and across history confirms it:
Liars and cheats eventually destroy themselves. The corrupt overreach. The ignorant make fatal, self-inflicted mistakes. The egotistical ignore the data that challenges them and the warnings that could save them. The selfish end up isolated and alone, even if they’re
surrounded by fame and fortune. The “robbers, perverts, killers and tyrants” Marcus Aurelius wrote about always end up in a hell of their own making. It’s a law as true as gravity.
This idea is clearly stated in Christian teaching, with the
analogy of sowing and reaping. We reap what we sow. Just listen to these verses:
Galatians 6:7-8 "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap
destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."
Proverbs 22:8 "Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken."
Job
4:8 "As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it."
Proverbs 11:18 "A wicked person earns deceptive wages, but the one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward."
As Holiday puts it: This is as true as the law of gravity.
NEXT ACTION
Today's action step is to reflect on the question of character. If "a man reaps what he sows," what will you be reaping -- as a father? As a husband? In your work? In your physical life? In your sexual life? In your spiritual life? In terms of happiness and joy? In terms
of peace and inner calm? These are good questions to think about, and if we're not happy with the answers, make some commitments to change.
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Would you like to go "all in" and join the Renewed Man Boot Camp? It's a 12 Week Immersion in these principles. You'll get these daily teachings, a weekly video on one of the 12 Keys of Being a Renewed Man, and access to a support group and/or a coaching group that I lead.
Find out more about
the Renewed Man Program here.
