Throughout life, many of us have said certain things that we don’t exactly live by.

Like the time you told your neighbor you think every archery hunter should shoot their bow every week even though you are not.

Or like the time you told a friend to start exercising or stretching but you are not doing that.

There are many reasons why we say things to other people that we don’t follow through with ourselves.

Let us dive into one of the reasons right now.

And that is: having a lack of self-awareness.

When we are fully aware and present with what we are thinking and saying, what tends to happen is we start holding ourselves more accountable for the words that are spoken.

Internally you start realizing that “maybe it is not fair to tell my close family to start eating better when I am not doing that myself”.

The more times you employ self-awareness and have this internal realization, the more times you can put the brakes on the words you were going to say.

Meaning, fewer moments falling prey to this poor way of living.

Living by your word means a few things.

First, you will be trusted more. You will be known as a reliable person.

Second, you will strengthen your relationships with others. You will be known as someone genuine and humble.

And third, you will have less regret and worry. You will be known as a person with a positive and encouraging attitude who is at ease.

As the years go on, this is a component I have been actively putting more effort into.

It has without a doubt changed who I am as a person for the better.

I am more accountable.

I have more trust in myself.

I feel like I am completely in control of myself.

All of this reminds me of the person I used for the article picture.

The picture is of my uncle Linden.

He is the first person that comes to my mind when I think about living by your words.

During his time on earth, everything he said to me and others he was actively living by.

Family, beliefs, education, hobbies, and so on. All of his words were concrete and real because he lived by what he said.

This is the kind of person you want to strive to be like. A person who follows through and lives by what they say.

The hunting community needs more people like this.

The next generation of hunters needs more role models like this.

Be one.