Want a better life? The Philosophy for LYF provides you with a mission, vision, strategy, and core values to achieve it.
The past few posts have provided details about:
- the way to live your life better through the core values of goodness, open-mindedness, gratefulness, respectfulness, and courageousness, and
- the what to do by living your life's twofold mission to grow true wealth for yourself and give true worth to others.
This post discusses your life's strategy, that is, how to live your life.
Your Strategy
Your life's strategy in the Philosophy for LYF is to dedicate your life to doing four deeds of goodness: LRN, LAF, LUV, and LIV. These four action-oriented, interconnected deeds of goodness specify how––through your actions––to both grow true wealth and give true worth.
Deeds of Goodness
Deeds are actions that are performed intentionally. In the philosophy of life, deeds of goodness are performed with intention and with goodness.
There are four deeds of goodness, and they are spelled LRN, LAF, LUV, and LIV. The alliteration and three-letter mnemonics help with remembering the four deeds. They can also be remembered by the related action words of learn, laugh, love, and live.
But the four deeds of goodness are much more profound and powerful than these related words. While it may seem that we "learn, laugh, love, live" naturally in our lives, we do not often do them at the breadth and depth of their deed of goodness meanings and with goodness as their intent.
Each deed of goodness can be directed inward toward self and outward toward others and the world. Both directions are important for balance between selfishness and selflessness, to fulfill and sustain your life’s twofold mission, and to experience both personal and divine elevations and an elevated life.
Each deed of goodness has a different emphasis when done toward yourself and when done toward others.
LRN
LRN toward yourself are actions to improve the goodness in yourself. Improving yourself means growing, maturing, and becoming a better human being.
LRN toward others are actions to empower the goodness in others. Empowering others means giving others the capability and tools to improve the goodness in themselves.
LAF
LAF toward yourself are actions to enjoy the goodness in yourself. Enjoying yourself means having fun and appreciating life.
LAF toward others are actions to uplift the goodness in others. Uplifting others means spreading joy to others and uplifting the spirits of others so that they may enjoy the goodness in themselves.
LUV
LUV toward yourself are actions to value the goodness in yourself. Valuing yourself means caring for your well-being and believing you have value and purpose.
LUV toward others are actions to nurture the goodness in others. Nurturing means caring about and for others and supporting others so they may see and value the goodness in themselves.
LIV
LIV toward yourself are actions to realize the goodness in yourself. Realizing yourself means doing your best and maximizing your skills, talents, and abilities.
LIV toward others are actions to inspire the goodness in others. Inspiring others means giving others through example the desire to do better and aspire to a higher level so that they may realize the goodness in themselves.
Goodness in(deed)
Each deed of goodness is embodied with the core value of goodness. An action without goodness is not a deed of goodness. To laugh at someone or to take pleasure in someone else’s pain is not LAF.
Furthermore, each deed of goodness represents positive, constructive action. Doing goodness is not achieved by avoiding doing bad or doing nothing. But neither is it action for action’s sake, busy work to keep busy. The deeds must be filled with goodness and must help fulfill your mission of creating value.
Each deed of goodness beneficially influences the other deeds. LRN influences the other deeds to do right, LAF to do often, LUV to do because, and LIV to do well. These influences and interrelationships confirm the importance of performing all four deeds of goodness to experience elevations in your life.
The Deeds are Yours
These deeds are your deeds to perform. No one can do them on your behalf. No one else is responsible for making sure you perform them. Others can help you—and it is desirable to seek and receive help—but the deeds of goodness are always done by you. And you are directly responsible for focusing on and doing them in your life.
The deeds of goodness can be applied to all aspects of your life. You can do goodness everywhere, from your relationships and your family to your work and your education.
As you can see, the breadths and depths of the deeds of goodness are profound and powerful. Each of us lives a life, and we all learn, laugh, love, and live at times, but not all of us live the deeds of goodness LRN LAF LUV LIV and even fewer of us LRN LAF LUV LIV for LYF.
Let's explore more about each deed, beginning with LRN.
Do LRN to improve and empower | LRN LAF LUV LIV for LYF
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Do LUV to value and nurture | LRN LAF LUV LIV for LYF
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