The Three Rules

Over ten years ago, I came up with what I like to call, "The Three Rules":

They were,

1. Avoid trouble
2. Do the right thing
3. Refrain from...  [fill in the blank]

The first two are quite obvious.  Stay out of trouble.  After all, what good are you if your in the doghouse (principal's office, jail, detention center, traffic court, etc.).  Doing the right thing shows what your really made of.  Or what kind of person you really are.  Whenever you do the right thing, your conscience is clear.

The the third may need some explanation:  One of the primary reasons for failure is, having a bad habit, wrong attitude, or acting or speaking first without thinking.  I used to say to myself, "Refrain from stupidity."  Or, "Refrain from doing the same exact thing all the time."

Every time when something goes wrong, I ask myself, "Did I follow the Three Rules?"  Did I stay out of trouble?  Did I do the right thing?  Did I refrain from saying or doing something really stupid?  Or fall into an old bad habit that does more harm than good?

The reason I kept this list down to just three items is, I to wanted to keep it simple and easy to remember.