TODAY, I WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE

This morning I came across this priceless email (Originally adapted from "On the Anvil" by Max Lucado) that a friend sent me about three years ago. It’s one of the most compelling pieces I have read and I thought I should share it with you my esteemed friends.  

Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. 

I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on, victoriously. No failure is fatal. It's OK to stumble. I will get up. It's OK to fail...I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.

Today I will make a difference. I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.

I will spend time with those I love, my spouse, my children and my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships.

Today I will spend at least five minutes with the significant people in my world. I will spend quality time talking or hugging or thanking or listening to all the beautiful people in my life. Today I will make a difference.

While I was going through this email, I realized that true friends are those who leave lasting legacies in our lives and everything you get from them has so much value. It might just take a while for us to realize so. In my case it took me close to three years to appreciate the value of this email.

As I sat on my desk pondering over what I had just read, I realized that I have made little or no difference in the last three years. In this period of time, I have had lots of ideas, fantasies, dreams, crushes, goals, cravings, relationships that didn't see the light of the day. I frequently underestimated the difference I could make in the lives of others. I have just one life and only one chance to make my life count.

And to those of you reading this, always remember that you are special and if there weren't any need for you in all your uniqueness to be on this earth, you wouldn't be here in the first place. That no matter how overwhelming life's challenges and problems seem to be, that you can make a difference in your immediate environment and in the world.

Today is a good day to start making a difference in the world. There is something left for you and me. I have decided that I will do whatever it takes and you should too and I pray you find the grace to make a difference.


#HappiestManInTheWorld