How a Personal Life Philosophy Can Greatly Enhance Your Life

By

Keith E. Renninson

Copyright © 2006

Over the past ten years, I’ve written articles for various publications, and developed a constant theme, which really didn’t become apparent until just this past year. As I moved through life, and pursued a personal quest of self-examination and establishment of my own philosophy, I noticed the concept of a “Life Philosophy” was uncommon among my friends, family and peers.

All of this begged the question:“Isn’t it obvious that in creating your own Life Philosophy you form a foundation from which to live, grow and enjoy life?” We all need the proverbial road map to follow as we experience our lives, and I felt this was an integral part of that process.

Some friends would say they receive their philosophy from religion and their church, some would say they studied the great philosophers while in college which gave them what they needed, while still others would offer that they live one day at a time and adjust as they go. From my humble and unscientific observations, most people don’t have a Life Philosophy to begin with. So how do you develop one, where do you begin and what does it consist of?

Let’s begin by defining two words:

  1. Life: …the sequence of mental and physical experiences that make up an existence of an individual.
  2. Philosophy: …the pursuit of wisdom; the most general beliefs, concepts and attitudes of an individual or group; a search for a general understanding of values and reality.

Another way to state this is: To truly live your life, you need to place value on certain beliefs which are important to you, and on which you base your: work, play, family, choices and decisions, and spirituality.”

Words are something that we take for granted because they are such a large part of our lives, they represent who we are, and how we define them defines us. Take a moment to define the following words for yourself. How do they affect your thoughts about life? How would you incorporate them into your Life Philosophy? How will you teach your children and family about them, and your views on them? How do they affect your personal and business lives?

  • Discipline
  • Courage
  • Ethics
  • Virtue vs Values
  • Responsibility
  • Happiness
  • Strength of Character
  • Morality
  • Honor

Today in America, we all too often, don’t take time to sit and be quiet long enough to think about how we feel our lives are progressing. We have become a culture of people who would rather complain, blame someone else or be negative about our life than actively seek ways to be responsible for it and improve it.

It is your life after all, it only lasts so long, and you are in charge of your choices. You can choose to seek solutions and be happy in the face of difficulty or be depressed and remain stuck in never ending problems. Which would you rather be?

Building a Life Philosophy requires self-examination for adults and instruction for children. It would be ideal if the parent or guardian had already established the basis of their own philosophy, so they can pass it along to the child or children in the family. But, sadly, many develop a philosophy by default and following the crowd.

For many years I lived like this and it didn’t work well at all; I thought I knew everything and didn’t need any help or guidance. I now call this living by proxy. We accept others truth without examination. This isn’t living your own life by your own principles; it’s living by someone else’s through laziness. This didn’t get me very far and it won’t further your life either.

It wasn’t until a friend introduced me to books on philosophy, metaphysics and spirituality over a decade ago that I began to perform some self-examination. Soon, I discovered how much I didn’t know, let me tell you that can be a very ugly, sobering and humbling experience. Once you get over the sticker shock of your own ignorance about these things, the door swings wide for growth…will you be ready to take action or shy away from personal self-actualization?

Luckily, for me I accepted the challenge. I went back to college to study writing and philosophy for a few years. At my age then, 54, it was a wonderful and enlightening experience to be with a lively bunch of young people with fresh outlooks for the future. They enabled me to be myself, to dig deep into my own desires and fulfill them. Now, years later, my personal Life Philosophy is solidly in place, even though it is still evolving. Let me quote it for you:

“I intend to live my life with creativity, courage, and faith. I will be benevolent with others, and accepting of their beliefs, while seeking a life filled with happiness, laughter, moral strength, wonderful health, accumulation of wealth and wisdom while being surrounded with love.”

I challenge you to write your own Life Philosophy, examine it, revise it, play with it, make it fun, make it purposeful…and then endeavor to live it! Use words that exemplify the qualities you want in your life; words that shout loudly from your heart: your passions, your virtues/values and your excitement; words that you can solidly build a powerful life around.

Look for what you “don’t want” from the times during your life where you had to live by other people’s principles, and replace themwith what you do want, for what represents you and your way of life in an elegant and delicious way. Then thrive, prosper and expand your life with enthusiasm.

Follow your own path, not someone else’s, be decisive, be in charge, and be bigger than you think you can be, because you already are by accepting this challenge. Take your time, don’t be in a hurry, and be kind with yourself, this is new start and you will need space to create and flourish.

In the end, it’s all just one man’s philosophy…mine.

Everything you desire is just outside your comfort zone.

keithrenninson.com