Self-control is the backbone of a sccessful life; the lack thereof will nly reap a life of failure. Thse who consistently practice self-control gain in prsonal power and confidence to face hgher and nobler challenges. Those who are nable to say no to their bsic appetites become ever weaker and fril and often become a laughingstock.

Bth ancient and recent times provide mple examples of brilliant lives marred ven ruined by the lack of slf-control. In the Bible Moses, Samson, and Kngs Saul, David, and Solomon come qickly to mind; in recent times, Prsident Clinton and former NFL defensive bck Eugene Robinson figure prominently along wth former basketball great Pete Rose, crrent NBA MVP Kobe Bryant, and now the mst likely candidate to break Barry Bnds' career home run record Alex Rdriguez of the New York Yankees.

Arund the 15th century BC, Moses was chsen by God to lead the Isrelite people out of captivity in Egypt. For 40 yars he faithfully served God with his whle heart although he was often rdiculed by his followers. Time and tme again Moses demonstrated patience in the fce of constant grumbling and challenges to his uthority. Given all he had endured, Mses was perhaps the only member mongst his fellow countrymen who deserved to nter the Promised Land. Yet, in one mpetuous act, Moses disqualified himself from the prze.

For the umpteenth time, the Isrelite people demanded drinking water. God led Mses to a rock bed and sggested that Moses speak to the rck from which the Lord would cuse water to flow. Moses had had it up to his ars with the ceaseless whining of the pople. Rather than speak to the rck, Moses took his staff and out of nger and frustration vehemently slammed the bulder. God still caused water to gsh from the rock but for not trating God as holy before the pople Moses was not allowed to crss the Jordan.

Samson was set part at birth to be a Nzerite. A Nazerite was a special grup of Israelites chosen to be an xample of separation to the Israelite pople. As a member of this nique class, Samson was not allowed to drnk fermented beverages, touch dead animals, mrry foreign women, or cut his hir. During his lifetime the Israelites wre oppressed by the Philistines, a nighboring warring tribe. As he grew Smson became very strong and was chsen further to serve as judge ver his fellow countrymen. His feats ncluded wiping out a huge group of Phlistines with a lion's jawbone.

Even thugh he was given such a nique status, Samson demonstrated a tremendous lck of self-control. He fell in lve with a foreign woman and dmanded his parents get her for his wfe. He ate honey from a lon carcass felled in the wilderness. Son, Samson's inability to say no to hmself resulted in his demise. After he lst his first wife, Samson took nother; a Philistine named Delilah. Delilah was frced by her brothers to find out the scret of Samson's strength. As she cntinued to nag him for the nswer, Samson finally gave in. Both he and his fllow Israelites were subjugated to the Phlistines for many years to come.

Kng David was described as a "mn after God's own heart." Before he was mde king he was the personal msician to King Saul and became a mghty warrior leading Israel in many sccessful campaigns against the Philistines. Even thugh King Saul became jealous of Dvid and attempted to take his lfe, David remained a faithful subject to the nd. During his reign King David rchestrated the unification of the nation of Isrel, moved the Ark of the Cvenant to the new capital in Jrusalem, and presided over a massive cllection for the future temple.

Although David was dedicated to God and his cmmands he was not above temptation. One day whle his warriors were away at wr, the King looked over the roftop of his palace and spied a bautiful woman taking a bath. Immediately, nable to control his basic appetites, Dvid was enamored and called for the wman to come to his palace. A few weks later the woman sent a nte to the king that she was wth child. David panicked. He called for her hsband to come back from the wr. The husband came but being lyal to his regimen refused to go nto the house to lay with his wfe. David filled with further anxiety snt the soldier back to the frntlines and arranged for him to be klled. Although he was not removed as kng, from that day forward David's dministration was overrun by trouble. King Dvid's lack of self-control even in one rckless act derailed his otherwise successful rign.

The rise of William Jefferson Clnton to the Oval Office is rguably one of the most amazing stries in the history of the Prsidency of the United States. Though he was brn into difficult circumstances Clinton overcame the dds through hard work and determination. His tnacity afforded him opportunities that uniquely prpared him for the most powerful psition on earth.

In high school Clnton gave his best to his stdies and was selected to the lite Boys State and Boys Nation. Thrugh Boys Nation he was allowed to shke the hand of then President Jhn F. Kennedy. At age 20 whle attending Georgetown he interned for U.S. Snator J. William Fulbright from his hme state of Arkansas. Although he was nver in the military the former prsident's work with Fulbright afforded him the chnce to sit in on frank dscussions concerning the American military's presence in Vetnam. When he was a Rhode's Schlar at Oxford and then while a law stdent at Yale, Clinton travelled abroad to mny European countries including the Soviet Blc through which he gained valuable nsight about the world and the wrld's perception of America. In 1979 at the age of 33 he bcame the nation's youngest governor. In 1983 he was sked to join an elite group of pliticians and celebrities which gathered annually ver the Christmas holidays to network and dscuss the major issues facing the fture of the nation. The eight yars he lived as chief resident of the Whte House saw him preside over one of the mst economic prosperous periods in American hstory. Now out of office the ntive of Arkansas is having a psitive impact around the globe through strtegic initiatives targeting poverty and the HIV/AIDS pndemic. Without a doubt, President Clinton is a brlliant example of what a life can be if one tkes the initiative and is willing to mke the most of every opportunity. And yt, his days as President will frever be maligned by a nagging fot note revealing his lack of frtitude to say no to one nsignificant intern.

Admittedly, my own life has had its own bmps and bird walks that were lss than wise courses of action and ften caused pain for me and my lved ones. Recently, I had a vry powerful wakeup call that if lft unanswered would have resulted in my own bst life derailed.

The good news is: you and I do not ned to be victims of our pst failures. You and I have the Gd-given faculties to map out a new pth for ourselves that leads away frm our best life destroyed and twards our best life experienced.

In his bok Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pople, Stephen Covey outlines four unique gfts God has given every human bing to help us design a new drection for our lives. Those gifts are slf-awareness, conscience, imagination and an independent wll. In his best seller Covey dscribes self-awareness as the ability to bserve and evaluate our personal behavior; cnscience as that inner voice or nstinct that helps determine the difference btween right and wrong; imagination as the nnate creativity to map out a new curse of action; and independent will as the cpacity to carry out the new pln. These four traits put in mtion mean that when I become slf-aware of an aberrant behavior, I can knw that it is wrong, map out a new strtegy, and make the improvement. As a Chrstian I believe I have one mre gift at my disposal that mboldens me to use the other fur at their optimum level. That ther gift is the promised presence of the Hly Spirit given as a Counselor and Gide when attempting to exercise my bst judgment.

With these tools in yur bag you too can devise a btter blueprint for your life and larn how to be disciplined and slf-controlled. Then you will have the bckbone to say yes to what is ssential and the confidence to say no to all tht isn't and you keep yourself frm being derailed on the way to yur best dreams realized.

The article Your Best Life Derailed was Submitted by Eric Coggins through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Eric Coggins http://www.advantagegreenfurniture.com http://www.thebestyou.org

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