What's Your Code?

All of us live by something - whether it's on purpose or an accident.

"A man's got to have a code, a creed to live by, no matter his job." John Wayne

Just like almost every Friday morning, I had coffee and middle-aged man oatmeal with my buddies this morning. (I actually did a change up and had a scone - living on the edge I was...)

I sent them this quote last night and asked if we could talk about it. We aren't experts on many things, but we have been learning to be experts on ourselves as we drink coffee and discuss our lives these past 15 years. Here's some of what we came up with.

Is it True?

Does everyone have a life code they live by? We decided it was true. Not everyone's life code is lived out or developed on purpose - a lot are on accident. But everyone has one. If a guy can't come up with his own, chances are his friends and family can. Are you brave enough to find out?

Here are some other things we decided about life codes:

They are like a compass.

They orient us toward things and give us a sense of our bearings. When we feel like things are off, it's likely because something is bumping up against our life code.

They can be revealed by how we react to stress.

When we are stressed, our behavior can shrink back to some really basic and primal attitudes and actions. Our life code will not only determine how we react, but what we react to. They can be connected to our insecurities, our sense of justice, our outlook on life, etc.

They are, at least in part, inherent.

Some aspects of our life code we were born with - predisposed toward. Some were an effect of our environment like our families, our culture, even our socio-economic class.

They serve as a filter.

They filter how we see our world and how we react to our world. Some things pass through - some things don't.

They are consistent.

Life codes are not changed by our changing circumstances. They help us react to our changing circumstances.

They are informed by our values.

Our values are just that - the things we value about living. Values are a person's principles or standards of behavior.

Not bad for a bunch of coffee shop life philosophers!

What would you add? We'd love to add to our list!

Let us know by making a comment.