Creating My Life

This post is part of my Life Thoughts series that attempts to document and share my views on life and the principles that guide me through it.

First a disclaimer: The title of this post is not original. Rather, I borrowed it from a fellow blogger, named creatingmylife, who has a blog by the same name. When I first saw the title on his blog, it immediately connected it to thoughts that I hold dear.

I believe one of the most fundamental choices that we all make in life is whether or not we will live our lives as victims. Many of us do not even realize that we've made such a decision, but in fact we make it everyday. Yes, life gives us constraints, however, we have far more power to mold our destiny that many of us (perhaps including myself) realize. Creating my life entails deep self-evaluation and asking myself, "who do I want to be?". Then I can start to make that vision a reality.

To gain such control over one's life, necessitates being an optimist in that you must believe in the possible. Unfortunately, many people confuse optimism with naivete, but allow me to demonstrate the difference. Let's say that I wanted to help an in trouble teen that has a history of drug addiction. Optimism helps me believe that it is possible for him to overcome his dependency. However, it would be naive or stupid for me to loan him my wallet full of cash after he'd been clean for a day. Many people become become pessimists because they feel that it protects them from life's disappointments and being taken advantage of. However, if you can distinguish the difference between optimism and naivete, then you can protected yourself from stupid mistakes while nourishing that inner child that looks to the future with bright anticipation.
So what kind of life do I want to create?

I want to be a person that others respects. I want be kind and caring to others regardless of race, age, beauty, religion, body type, and social class. I want to be the kind of person that acknowledges a bum on the street and treat them as my equal. I want to be a person that is true to my word. I want to be a person that is accepting of the diversity of others (note: the one thing I cannot tolerate others is disrespect of others). I want to be patient. I want to be positive about life without being naive.

I want to travel. I want to be constantly expanding myself through continued learning and the pursuit of language. I want to better my understanding of the world around me and it's peoples.