The graduation gown has been removed, replaced with our every day work clothes. Life is full of promise and possibility – we are energized and eager to conquer, to carve our niche in the world.
While this might sound like the typical rhetoric we hear at graduation, graduation is an exciting moment in life at any age.
There are many graduation moments: High school, college, graduate school, etc. There may be periods of time between each of them. But at each point in time, we had set a goal and worked hard to attain it. And now we are eager to apply what we have learned.
While graduation signals the ending of one chapter in life, it begins another.
As we continue to write our life story, we know there will be many faltering beginnings, setbacks, disappointments, and unfinished goals.
Life will not only challenge us but beat us up. And we will need the many bits and pieces of wisdom we have tucked in our mind’s bank account to withdraw whenever needed.
What bits and pieces of wisdom would I share?
Most are from individuals much more wise than I, but whose wisdom has served me well and so I share them with you.
• Cultivate honorable friends – associate with people of integrity
• Go to church. Make it a way of life. It keeps us grounded and humbled as we are reminded that we are not the center of the universe. There is wisdom in God’s Word that is needed to balance an ever changing culture that says anything goes.
• Develop life habits that will take you through the tough times as well as the good – time management, diligence, perseverance, and focus.
• Develop and live principles that represent core values of honesty, integrity, hard work, grace and forgiveness.
• Learn to roll with the punches. It takes time and patience to develop resiliency and flexibility.
• Listen – from the other person’s point of view.
• Take time to make important decisions. Consider the pros and cons, costs and benefits. Do your choices represent your values
Worth is an internal concept. Confidence is an outgrowth of both humility and healthy esteem. It is not something awarded or given to you. It is developed.
Success is taking whatever we were born with and finding a way to develop it into something positive, rewarding and enduring. It isn’t money, possession, status or prestige. It isn’t honors or accolades. It’s knowing that at the end of each day we’ve done our best. It’s not perfection.
Develop a spirit of gratitude. No matter what the loss – no matter what the adversity or tragedy, there is a hidden blessing as well as new opportunity hidden within it
Learn from mistakes but don’t dwell on them. Take the information gained and apply it in a new way – a new setting. Then place your focus on what you can do; not what you can’t or what was denied or taken away from you.
Marlene Anderson