| FROM THE INSIDE OUT.... By Vickey Pahnke <[email protected]>, CES speaker, songwriter, producer Do you feel good enough about yourself that a "bad hair day" doesn't wreck your mood? Do you feel OK about yourself even if you aren't looking like the newest "gorgeous" male model or the Queen of Sheba? (Actually, I've never seen the Queen of Sheba. I don't even know if she's pretty. And who decides what "pretty" is anyway?.... But you get the point.) When is the last time you made an honest assessment of yourself -- of your talents, gifts, and strengths? It is important to do so if we intend to improve and progress. "Happy is he that condemneth not himself" (Romans 14:22). A personal acceptance rating, so to speak, can assist us in keeping track of the things that matter. Things that matter are not based on earthly, temporal "values". We can do that rating based on questions like: *What do I like about myself? *What do others like best about me? (Remember that temporal things do not count!) *Is there any guilt I need to get rid of? (Identify it and then remember that guilt is for one reason only ~ to help us rid ourselves of that impurity and move forward) *Do I need an attitude adjustment? *Do I do some small act of service every day? *When is the last time I told my Mom or Day that I love them? *Do I say what I mean, and mean what I say? You get the idea. These are the kinds of things we need to keep track of. Not what brand of clothes we wear, how much money we make, or how our hair looks. In fact, if self-image is tied up in how we look, what we wear, or what job or calling we have, that rating is going to fluctuate constantly. The Lord taught Samuel the importance of concerning ourselves with inner qualities when he said, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; . . .for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). It is necessary to look on the heart to take a personal acceptance inventory. That can be a key to unlocking a more accurate, positive picture of ourselves. It has nothing to do with looking like a buff NFL quarterback or soccer player, or having the face or figure of a cover girl. It is not measured by outward appearances at all. Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught it well: "We are sometimes so anxious about our personal images, when it is His image we should have in our countenances" ["'Answer Me,'" Ensign, Nov. 1988, p. 31]. "His image" is reflected as we work from the inside out! Taken in part from the book K.I.S.S.: Gospel Guidelines for Better Relationships; written by Vickey Pahnke for Bookcraft Publishing. |