Intentions & Motives

I am sharing my new column that will be published next month.

Inventing Your Life

“Intentions & Motives”

By

Rob Claudio

I read an article recently about a woman who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and was given the prognosis of having very little time left following her medical results.  Although the subject matter may sound like it was a depressing article, it actually was one of the most positive and inspiring articles that I have read in some time.  The woman had the best disposition about her circumstances, considering what the ramifications were as a result of her diagnosis.  She decided to tell her family to not make a fuss over the situation and asked them to instead do something nice for somebody else, then come back and tell her about it.  Her decision to proceed with her version of holistic medicine that could aid in her condition with hearing about good deeds was life changing not only for her but for the people that she ended touching all around the world.  Her story made it to a website; www.caringbridge.org, which is a website dedicated to supporting people on their health journey. The examples of what people did ran the spectrum from buying groceries for a needy family, to helping an elderly person financially and giving someone a hug in her honor.  Her request manifested far beyond her immediate circle and it became a worldwide effort.  The other piece to this was that although her prognosis was not good, she kept living far beyond what her medical doctor’s expectations were.  At one point she told her family that it was the many great deeds that people were doing that were keeping her alive.  The daughter of this individual was so involved with this new found passion for good deeds, that she dedicated her time to helping start a website that was dedicated globally to hear about the many stories of people that had done positive things for others.  The site is; www.gratitude.crowdmap.com and it tracks gratitude efforts globally.  Although this inspiring person did end up passing away due to her illness, it was two years after her terminal diagnosis.  The amount of time that she was able to live was far beyond what was ever expected considering her condition.   When you think about it, if you had the last two years of your life filled with nothing but great stories demonstrating the good in people all over the world, I would imagine that it would be validating to think that the rest of the globe was actually not that bad of a place after all.  It is inspiring to see what people can do to change the direction of not only their own lives, but those of others as well.  If you have the ability to go beyond someone else’s expectations for your own life, you can also have an impact that may be the chain reaction that was needed for others to change their purpose and destiny.  Think about the things that you do or the words that you say to yourself along with the intent behind them.  Ask yourself what your motives are behind the words that you use.  If you don't like the answers to some of your responses, then think about how you will change your motives to achieve a different outcome.  Give yourself a chance to create a positive result in your life, by doing things with the best of your intentions behind them.  Whenever you have a moment of self-doubt or think about not pursuing what you started, think about the person who willed good among others whose name was Joan Z. Lewis and changed other people's destinies along with her own.

               

“Good intentions might sound nice,

but it's positive actions that matter.”

-Tim Fargo