Today I saw a lady look me directly in the eye and leave her grocery-shopping cart out in the parking lot. I was amazed, pissed, and disappointed in her as a human being even though I did not know her. I know I was giving her the look of a disappointed parent, yet she just pushed that car out of her way and right into someone else’s future path.
That brings me to the question: are you contributing the betterment of the world? Or, are you making it a more negative environment? It’s either one or the other. There are no in betweens. There is no neutral answer.
You can ask yourself this question with anything you do in life.
The Whole 9 Life does a fabulous job of discussing betterment in their book It Starts With Food. In their book, they have four good food standards that food must adhere to for it to pass the consumption test. The four standards are: promote a healthy psychological response, promote a healthy hormonal response, support a healthy gut, and support immune function and minimize inflammation. So, long story short, if the food doesn’t help you then it hurts you. Period.
What if you thought about everything in life you did along these lines? For example, does texting and driving enhance or limit life? Does throwing trash on the ground make this world a better or uglier place? Does talking on the phone while ordering coffee, meat from the butcher, or checking out make this world awesome? And above all, is it necessary to honk your horn for 5 straight minutes regardless of what the person did you are honking at?
Those are every day tasks. Just imagine if people applied this sort of thinking to not only their daily tasks but also their jobs and careers. What if people and businesses were not driven by money and power but rather the betterment of a human being and their offspring?
I challenge you to live a life that was better than yesterday. Live a life in which you enhance your life and those around you. Live a life in which every action you make you would be proud of. Act with integrity and purpose from the food you eat, to the clothes you wear, to the way you make a living.
Basically, put the grocery cart away.