09-20-11

Honesty. Open-Mindedness. Willingness. HOW. I find that these 3 principles improve my life every day I practice them. They are very simple and yet probably the hardest to achieve. It begins with honesty. Honesty with oneself and with others. It is much easier to be honest with other people than it is to be honest with myself. However, I find that when I am honest with myself, however hard that may be, things begin to improve. But, my life doesn't magically improve by practicing honesty alone. Open-Mindedness comes next. To be open-minded can mean many various things. But the general idea is accepting other people where they are and listening to their opinions. I don't have to like what they say, but I always take it into consideration. I try to see things from different perspectives. So, after I am honest with myself, I can begin accepting the honesty of others, and hearing what they have to say and listening to their suggestions for me. Which brings me to willingness. To be willing is to honesty try to do what others have suggested. For example, if I am facing a problem and someone tells me, "try this, it worked for me". If it worked for them, they why would it not for me? It is worth a try, it is always worth a try. It sounds simple to practice willingness, but it can be very difficult.
       Practicing these 3 principles have improved my life, who says they won't improve yours?