Most of us have heard of “The Golden Rule”: Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
Today I want to look at another “rule” that more often than not creeps into our everyday behaviour making the Golden Rule a little (or extremely) rusty
The Tarnish Rule shows up as “Treat others the way they treat you.” aka The most tempting response we can give.
If she is rude to you, you can be rude to her.
If she ignores you, you can ignore her.
If she cheats on you, you can cheat on her.
If she embarrasses you, you have every right to embarrass her.
If she makes you feel crappy, you have the the right to make someone else feel crappy.
And the list can go on.
How often do we let the behaviour and attitudes of others influence us?
How often does one person’s bad mood rub off on you?
I know that every now and then, I too, fall victim to the Tarnish Rule*, which initially feels great but really does not achieve anything.
(*our behaviour not only tarnishes the dignity of others, it tarnishes our own character)
“The Golden Rule” is the golden rule for a reason. It takes courage. It takes humility. It takes commitment.
It’s about doing the right thing even when it is tough.
It’s about treating people the way YOU want to be treated regardless of how they treat you.
It’s about giving your best because you can.
I wonder what would happen if for the next day of our lives, we committed 100% to living the Golden Rule by example.
What would it be like? I can’t know for sure but what I can be sure of is that from this moment forward I commit to living the Golden Rule by example one encounter at a time. This will mean thanking the Tarnish Rule for being so tempting and reminding myself that I am capable of so much more.
I’m in this game of life to be the BEST self I can be and that means going for GOLD….any other colour or option just isn’t good enough.
- Ladies (and Gents) Who ________: What’s Your Legacy? - May 15, 2018
- A Letter For Every Mother - April 17, 2018
- Dear Beautiful Soul… - March 28, 2018
You ain’t no fool!