A 15-second passive boxing match on the road made me think of my own character formation and the eternity mindset. Listen in to hear what I mean.

STRENGTH CHECK or ROOT REFLECTION:

One. Recall the last time you felt your ego bruised, at home, in traffic, online, or at work. Ask yourself honestly, was I defending something eternal, like truth or someone's wellbeing, or was I defending my own fifteen-second kingdom?

Two. Think of a relationship where a small offence has quietly hardened into distance, maybe with a sibling, a co-worker, or a friend from church. Ask God to show you if what you are protecting there is your dignity or your pride, because those two are not always the same thing.

Three. Notice your body the next time you feel that flash of defensiveness, the tightened jaw, the quickened breath, the words already forming in your head. Before you speak or react, ask, if eternity is real, does this moment deserve the weight I am about to give it?

NEXT RIGHT STEP:

The next time someone flashes their blinkers at you, literally or figuratively, cuts you off, corrects you publicly, or takes credit for what was yours, pause before you respond. Take one slow breath and ask, ego or eternity, before you say or do anything else.

Keep a small tally, on paper or in your notes app, of every time you catch a bruised ego trying to run the moment instead of letting eternity run it. You are not tallying failures. You are tallying awareness, and awareness is where character work actually begins.

Then write or send me your story. Tell me about your own version of the blinkers, the moment where your ego wanted to win and something bigger, or better yet someone bigger, asked you to let go instead. Did you catch it in time, or only see it afterward? Both count, and both are worth sharing.

USEFUL LINKS:

• ⁠⁠⁠The Iman Diaries⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WHOLE | Life Counseling Ministry⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• ⁠⁠Book your counseling sessions⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

MUSIC CREDITS

• Alex Jauk for distant bell ringing
• Breakz Studios for the piano

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© Copyright 2026 | Emmylou F. Iman