In November 2008, trucker Ronnie Sanders, 38, was hauling a heavy load of tractors and forklifts from Georgia to Independence when on I-75 in Kentucky, traffic in front of him stopped abruptly. Directly in front of him was a Grand Caravan, and he saw kids in the back seat. Ronnie was bearing down hard, and he knew that the truck’s bulk would probably protect him from any injury – but that the people in the van would be crushed. Without taking time to think about it, he jerked the wheel to the right and flew off the road into a 60 foot ravine.
Ronnie Sanders was guided by his principles – in this case, protect lives whenever possible, even at the possible expense of his own.
Self Actualization is the state of being clear on your principles and living by them. When you achieve this state, you don’t need to agonize over moral decisions, and you don’t need to wrestle with balance your self-interest against your values. The wrestling has already been done, and your decisions have already been made.
Let’s work through four steps to help you clarify and solidify your principles:
If Ronnie Sanders, from the example above, had needed to stop and think about his decision, or agonize over the choice to end his own life to preserve others’, everyone in that Grand Caravan would have probably died. But he was already clear on his personal credo. His tractor-trailer rolled 60 feet down the embankment, tearing open its fuel tank en route, and came to rest in a ravine, where it burst into flames. Sanders was trapped, tangled in his seat belt, and his legs were on fire.
He would have died, but for another person who shared the same credo – fellow trucker Steve Cooper. Steve and his wife Kim were taking turns driving when Kim spotted flames and pulled over. Kim helped another driver get their car clear of the flames while Steve bolted down the hill and climbed into the burning cab to rescue Ronnie – thinking all the while, “I do not want to be here.” He managed to get Ronnie free and 20 feet clear of the truck before it exploded. Both men were left with long-term health concerns as a result of their heroism, but both came out of the adventure with no regrets. They had lived according to their credos.
Roger K. Allen, Ph.D. is an expert in personal transformation, leadership, and teams. His tools and methods have helped hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of people transform the ways they work and live. To learn more, visit www.theheroschoice.com.
My purpose is to teach you strategies to replace negative patterns with a positive state of mind from which you can achieve your greatest desires and live a joyful and abundant life.
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