Tag: Apply

Control

“A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls”.

Proverbs 25:28

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger”.

James 1:19

You have seen men who cannot control themselves. They lose their temper like children; they are a disgrace to what we call masculine. There is no honor in losing control of anything, much less our own selves. All we can truly control is ourselves. We control the way we respond to the way others act. 

There is plenty in life that we can control, and there is plenty that we cannot. Of those things that are under our control, we have an obligation to be masters of them. Our emotions don’t rule us, we rule our emotions. Boys are carried away by emotion. Men command themselves at all times. 

To control oneself is to have mastery over the body and the mind. To relinquish control of all outside events, recognizing that they are beyond our ability to affect, is the mark of a man. There is a stoic principle that states one should not worry about anything that one is not directly controlling. If you are not controlling it, why worry about it?

Mantra

If I can’t control it, I don’t stress about it.

Control

Application

Dozens of events happen everyday that are outside of our ability to command. How coworkers act, how people will drive, what the law of entropy will bring about. 

Practice not worrying about the smallest things first. If you can master controlling stress, controlling yourself in small endeavors, you can command yourself in large ones. If bad drivers really get under your skin, practice being aware that you are not in control of the situation. 

Road rage is an opportunity for personal improvement. When you feel yourself getting angry when driving, become aware of it. Then just build on that awareness. Say to yourself, “Men do not lose command of themselves because of small annoyances”. Do not expect overnight results. You have spent years being angry on the road, you are not going to improve yourself in one day of effort.

If you are not in command of an event, do not let it bother you. Tell yourself that it is not bothering you. Thoughts eventually become reality. Action becomes habit. Build your character and strength through thought.

Conduct Yourselves like Men.

Apply

To Apply knowledge is the only true form of learning.

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

James 1:22

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

People walk into the Church building, sit for an hour or two, then walk out. They learn nothing and make no changes to their daily actions. Their life goes on from week to week in this same manner and they still think they are doing what is right. They live a life of ease with no application of knowledge. Constantly “learning”, never applying. 

What they do is like going to law school, passing the bar exam yet never stepping into the courtroom. Or going to college, then medical school, residency and internship and yet never applying what you learned in a medical practice. Christians live the same way, going to Church at all the “right times” and in all the “right ways” while wearing the “right clothes”, yet never actually doing the things they need to do. 

The Bible is a book of actions, not one of weak emotions.

Pathetic men are the ones who sit in the pews week after week and still do nothing with their faith. This is wrong. The Word is a Weapon, a Sword that must be used against enemies. It is not good enough to know what to do and it is not enough to want to do it, it must be applied. The best workout plan in the world will do nothing to transform your body if you don’t actually do the workout plan.

Weak men talk.

Real men Do.

Be a Man.

Mantra

To apply is the only acceptable behavior.

Application

How do you apply the philosophy of application? By doing. It’s not complicated. It is consistent action over time. That is what brings victory in any endeavor. 

Whenever you are learning a new skill or reading a new book, try to absorb something you can immediately start using in your life. If no behavior change takes place, then we aren’t really learning. 

Applying what we know also accelerates learning. Because by testing our new knowledge, we can determine if it is true or not. Whatever you are doing, you must apply it. Resist the urge to read books just for the sake of reading them. Avoid doing things to try to look “cool”. Apply knowledge so you improve as an individual. 

Conduct Yourselves like Men.