The new year is here and many of us have made the
decision to better our lives, to turn in a different direction or to let go of
unproductive people and activities. I spent that last weeks of 2013
giving advise on how to finish 2013 strong and start 2014 off on the right
foot. The sad truth is that positive growth is more than just a
resolution. Positive growth takes daily effort. For some it might even
take hourly effort. Every hour of the day we may have to remind ourselves
of the mission we have for our lives. We have to constantly keep our goals and
direction in the fore front of our mind. If we don’t constantly keep
goals in focus, the pressure of every day life will take over and we’ll find
yourself living the same life we’ve been living all of the previous years.
When it comes to avoiding negative interaction with
the legal system you have to really be on extra guard. Some people fall into negative interaction
with the legal system by mistake while others make breaking the law a lifestyle
decision. However, if you want to
avoiding negative interaction with the legal system, one way to
do it is to “Stop Taking Short Cuts.”
Just recently, while driving down a one way
street, I noticed a vehicle coming in my
direction. I was shocked at how deliberant and fast this person was
traveling. As the vehicle passed, a young man stared through my window
giving me a look as if I was the person breaking the law. At that moment it dawned on me that so many
people are caught up trying to take short cuts in life that they put their
future and the future others in danger.
The truth is that when you take short cuts, you are really cutting
yourself short. Short cuts are the most
deceiving activity in our pursuit of achieving goals. On the surface it seems that taking a short
cut will create a future benefit, but in reality, if the short cut was the
better alternative it would have been the first choice or the actual route of
those who designed the path. Consider these examples:
Putting
Yourself and Other’s in Danger By Short Cutting While Driving. When ever you decide to
break or ignore traffic laws you are performing a form of short cutting. This theory applies to speeding, driving
without a license, going the wrong way down a one way street or just taking an
actual “short cut.” Many times there are
cases in my Court from people who have taken a short cut through a commercial
drive way or traveled the wrong direction down a street. The reasons that most people give for these
actions is that they were in a rush to get to a certain place. If they practiced my theory of “Finishing
First” they would realize that the risk
and possibility of getting caught would keep them from achieving the goal of
getting to their destination on time. In
addition to not getting there on time, they could find themselves on the
receiving end of a ticket and end up paying fines and costs as a result of
their decision. The same thing applies
in life and the road to your goal or destination. The road to success has a definite path. When you try to go around the path or
disregard the rules you create a scenario where you will fail to get to your
destination, get there too late or hurt other people in the process. Just like the person driving toward me down
that one way street, he could have easily ran into my car and put both of our
futures in jeopardy. That simple act,
trying to get somewhere by taking a short cut, cut have had the effect of
cutting both of our lives short.
Putting
Yourself and Other’s in Danger by Short Cutting On The Job Or In School. This is the not so obvious
offense. Most people believe that when
they cheat or try to get over on someone or something, they are only harming
themselves. Other people know that they
are harming others but choose to disregard it.
When you cheat in school or cheat on the job you are cheating yourself
as well as the company and community.
Most intentional acts of deceit are revealed at some point in time. When you first take the short cut by getting
the answers in school in a non ethical way or first beat the system at work by
cutting corners, not being productive, sleeping at your desk or leaving early
you feel that you’ve done something beneficial for yourself, but in time your
poor performance catches up with you causing everyone to suffer. As you start on the road to achieving your
goals and making sure this year is better than your last year stop cutting
yourself short. Finish school, encourage
your children to go to school, get a job, prepare for a better job. The list goes on and on but the fact remains,
in order to live your best life, never cut yourself short!
For more discussion on this subject or others, join Judge
Dawson’s Cycle Breaker/Finish First program on Monday nights at 5:30pm at the
East Cleveland Municipal Court. East
Cleveland Municipal Court’s Judge William L. Dawson is on a mission to help
people to Finish First, live their best lives and be Cycle Breakers!
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