PRINCIPLES
FOR PERSONAL GROWTH, CHANGE, AND TRUE
SUCCESS
IN OUR LIFE AND SERVICE TO
OTHERS
How
to become all we can be and live at peace in our
world.
Principle
4 - The universal principal of cause and effect works
in our life to carry us forward or to bring us
down.
The universe is not random. We know that there
are physical and material laws that govern the world
that we live in. We are taught, and we discover, that
for every action there is an equal and opposite free
action. We have discovered, but not created, a
series of mathematical and physical laws that help us
understand our world and decide what to do. We
know that there are certain laws that govern the field
of aerodynamics, and this means that a properly
designed airplane can fly. We also know that
there is a law of gravity and that an improperly
designed aircraft must come to the ground. The
law of cause and effect must be respected in all of our
considerations.
The law of cause and effect in the material world comes
into our human situation, not as a law, but as a
profound life principle. There are no guarantees
in We have no assurance that because we do one thing
that a certain result will follow. We also know
that there are things that come into our life that are
not directly the result of what we have done. There are
tragedies over which we have no control, and for which
we were not responsible, and there are great blessings
and much good fortune that comes to us even though we
seemingly did nothing to cause or deserve
it.
But the principle is in effect and in honoring it, we
will grow and be able to live at peace in our
world.
The principle goes under many names and is expressed in
many ways. When we say, “What goes around, comes
around,” we are expressing this principle. The
deep wisdom of the ages which says, “What you reap, you
will sow,” is also an expression of this
principle. Those who have studied the human
condition often speak of the universe as a
mirror. Brian Tracey, well-known thinker and
speaker, tells us that the universe is a mirror, and
that what we send out will be reflected back toward
us. Perhaps all of these principles, thoughts,
and traditions reflect the deep belief that there are
always consequences. What we do will always have
some results. What someone else does will always
have some result. Those who do things well will
receive good results. The old business saying,
“The harder I work, the luckier I get,” is an
expression that luck is not a factor in our success,
but that what oftentimes passes for luck was caused by
deep thinking and very hard
work.
Yes,
indeed, the principle of cause and effect works in our
lives; and it will carry us forward or it will bring us
down.
Even though this has the ring of common sense, and will
usually be embraced by most people in the abstract, a
significant part of the population spends their time
trying to beat the principle. They act as if it
were not true. If we truly believe that the way
we treat others is the way we will be treated, most of
us would treat other people differently. However,
we hope that what we do will not always come back to
us. If we truly believed that to be successful we
would have to do things to cause that success, then we
would not invest our money and our time in cheap
schemes that promise to get us rich, nor would we
believe in the lottery as a means to lasting
success.
Much of the misery in our
world comes from the efforts of others to try and beat
this principle. They hope to gain a great effect
without putting in a great cause. They hope that
the way they will be treated is not a reflection of how
they have treated others. In a workshop I once
said to the participants that they were free to not pay
the fee for the workshop if they did not believe it was
of sufficient value. One of the participants
responded, “Well, we could still believe it was of
value and not pay you and then get all of the
information for free.” I responded, “Yes, you
could do that; and if you do, you are making a great
mistake. Because if you cheat me of $50, you
yourself will probably be cheated of $500.” The
interesting part of this principle is that when you are
cheated, you will probably not even know that it
happened or how it happened. You will probably
chalk it up to bad luck.
This principle should give
us great hope. If we treat others with great
respect and treat them as we would like to be treated,
that is what we will receive. If we continue to
study, improve our service, do the things that are
vital and create value, then we will receive all those
good things.
No, it is not a law; we
cannot guarantee anything. But it is a deep
principle. Let’s remember that the golden rule is
not just an admonition, but it is more like a
rule. What you do to others will be done unto
you. So, the principle of cause and effect works
in our lives and will carry us forward or bring us
down.
Stan
Hustad
PTM Group