I grew up angry. I will probably be an angry man the rest of my life, but I will not allow anger to control me. To accomplish this, I developed personal rules which I follow in my daily life.
1. I am responsible for myself, my actions, and my choices.
2. I will not blame others for what I choose to do, or the results of what I did.
3. Other people do not owe me anything, unless there has been a clear agreement ahead of time on what will be owed. (For example: your job)
4. Other people do not have to like me.
5. Other people do not have to respect me, I must earn people’s respect by the way I behave. (For example: by making good choices and controlling myself in a godly way)
6. If I want to do something good for someone else, I will choose to do it without expecting them to have to be grateful for what I did. (For example: doing favors for others)
7. I can choose to like others if I want, but must not expect them to like me back.
8. If other people act like fools or children, I must not let myself get sucked into doing the same. (For example: getting angry and arguing)
9. If I treat others in a good way, that does not mean that they must treat me the same in return.
10. I cannot control what others say about me, but I can control whether it turns out to be true. (For example: If someone says I am a Liar, I will not lie, proving them wrong)
11. I am a man of God, I will not let the enemy control me through the actions of other people. (For example: behaving just like them, or letting them control my anger with their behavior)
12. I must be friendly, if I want to have friends, but that does not mean that others will automatically want to be my friends. (See rule 4 above)
13. Just because I believe that something is true, does not mean that others will, or have to, agree with me. (For example: just because someone is a Christian, they still may not correctly understand Biblical instruction, or agree with it)
14. It is OK for other people to believe differently from me.
15. Just because I think something is right does not mean I should do it, I must always consider the consequences. (For example: If I confront someone they may decide that they don’t want to have anything to do with me again)
16. Just because something feels or seems right, it does not mean that it is right for right now. (For example: even if something is the right thing to do, it may have to wait for the right time)
17. Anger is a signal to me that I may not be handling something right, I need to read the above rules and make changes.
18. Other people may seem to get away with behaving badly, but God wants me to choose to behave in a godly manner, in every case.
MOST IMPORTANT RULE OF ALL!
Never let the urgent get ahead of the important.
