When you take a stand out of deep conviction, people know. They may not even agree, but they ask, ‘Do I want someone who is willing to take a hard stand and someone I can trust to do that when the chips are down?’ They want that. ~Barbara Boxer
Thumb-Sucking in Society
So many people today seem to be mulling about — scampering hither and thither with no real purpose in life. I’m not implying that you need to have one, two or even three main drives in life, your primary purpose should really only entail the betterment of yourself and, if you can manage it (but usually comes with the package of self-improvement), the betterment of other people’s lives as well.
This does not necessarily mean that you need to don a nun’s outfit and become the next Mother Theresa. It simply means to live with integrity and to let that little light of yours shine, shine, shine.
For want of not breaking out into song at this point, I will swiftly move on.
So many of us ‘self-help’ writers (including myself) bang on about purpose but let’s take a look at another word today — conviction.
What does it Mean to Live with Conviction?
Simply put, conviction is a firmly held belief. You can start to act upon your convictions today by ascertaining:
What is it that you stand for? Is it love, world peace, justice, having a jolly good time, a particular cause, educating the next generation, spreading your particular brand of creativity, etcetera? Get clear on your legacy. How would you want to be remembered? This can usually point you in the right direction.
Then ask yourself how you are embodying this? In other words, how are you walking the talk in your everyday life? You can either take giant or baby steps to stand in the light of your convictions or you can just talk about them. If you choose the latter, you’re not going to be judged by me, but you need to then own that decision too.
Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct. ~Thomas Carlyle
Living your conviction, in my tangy opinion, just means to go for what you believe in guns blazing (not literally, of course). For example: if you choose to smoke, then smoke and enjoy every cigarette. Own the fact that you may die from it, own your choice but also own the enjoyment.
I’m sure I’m going to get 100 angry letters for saying this and let me say for the record, I do not condone smoking (I quite in 2001 and never looked back) but this is an extreme example that can work with any case in point. If you are going to do it, own it.
Are you Wishy-Washing Your Life Away?
Conviction is a way of taking responsibility for your actions no matter what you are doing. If you can’t take responsibility, then you shouldn’t be doing it. Chances are that you are going to end up blaming everyone else but yourself for any future repercussions.
Don’t be a ‘poor me’, be an ‘I-know-what-I’m-doing’ kind of chap/lass.
Own your life, own what you want to get out of it, own that you are still learning and growing, own who you are and what you stand for and most of all own the fact that it won’t last forever.
We are in this theatrical production of life together, we will come and we will go — make the most of it while you can.
Hello, Steven Spielberg!
We can write and act out a drama, comedy, romance, horror, sci-fi (if you have the relevant props and celestial connections) or a feel-good script (heck, it could even be a combination of all!) — this is your God-given free-choice. Live it with conviction and your life story will not only make it onto the Top ranking DVD list but could also end up on Blu-ray.
Own it, be it, do it and then, when it is your time to exit — depart knowing that you truly lived. If you leave this plane of existence having touched just one person’s life, you have made a difference!
Live like you mean it.
With all my love,
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Cherie Roe Dirksen
Cherie is a self-empowerment author, multi-media artist and musician living in the Klein Karoo, South Africa. She has weekly blogs at her site www.cherieroedirksen.comwhere she discusses practical and insightful perspectives on taking responsibility for your life and following your bliss.You can follow her on Facebook, on Pinterest, on LinkedIn and on YouTube.
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