** Becoming a True Force of Nature **

 
 

  It is a universal principle that true happiness is living for other than oneself. It is going beyond one's own desires to become what writer George Bernard Shaw calls a 'true force of nature' where one becomes a beautiful landscape creating comfort and peace for others. According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, becoming such a person is the final stage in human self-development.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

In reaching this level of happiness, we can 'self-actualize' ourselves and become all that we can possibly become.
 
   
  To reach this state as a person however, is a struggle that requires a lot of effort, self-discipline, and imagination. It is therefore important to view life as a process of lifelong self-development where you continually work at becoming a better person. To know who that better person is, writer and educator Stephen Covey recommends visualizing yourself in the future and to think about how you want to be remembered after you pass away.
   
   

To think about the legacy you want to leave to your children and grandchildren. As an excercise, imagine yourself at your 70th birthday party and think about what you want others to say about you as they give speeches about you: "My father is the most trusting person I have ever known", " He's been a great husband who has always controlled his anger and negative feelings and instead responded with strength, kindness, and love". After determining what kind of person it is that you want to become, it will then be important to stay the course and continually, day-in and day-out, moment by moment, work hard though self-discipline and imagination to actually become that person. There will most certainly be times when you will go off course but if you keep coming back, you will reach your goal.


As you spiral yourself upwards in becoming the best you can be, you will also need to decide on what the most important things are in your life and to start putting them first in your day-to-day living. For instance, you may decide that vibrant health and spending lots of quality time with your family are very important. This means that you will have to find time in your schedule to exercise, to get a consistently good night's sleep, to educate yourself on healthy eating, and to make sure that you spend time with your loved one's. By doing so, you will have to diminish or eliminate some of your other, less self-educating activities such as watching TV, using the internet, or spending too much time at work. As you do this, the important thing is to stick to it and do them no matter what. Do not allow yourself to do otherwise. Remember that there is nothing permanent except change. Work at changing yourself into a stronger and better person who will be better able to serve others and to act as a role model for others to learn from.


It has been said that learning is an intrinsic human need. We all have a natural motivation to learn. To learn something, to know and/or do it well is a great feeling to experience and creates a wonderful sense of self-accomplishment. Whether it's learning how to take better care of our health, to learn how to communicate better with others, to learn about being better at our job, to learn a new language, or simply learning how to play an instrument or new sport, they should all be viewed as a process of lifelong learning. A person may wish to learn the English language and to be good at speaking it but it is better to become the best English speaker that you can possibly be and to view it as a lifelong goal. In our journey in becoming a true force of nature, let's help one another learn together.
   
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