Principle: Pull Your Weight

There are several corollaries, or possibly other ways to state this principle. "Earn what you enjoy." "Never assume you're entitled." "Don't be any trouble if you can avoid it."

But essentially, I think it's the step beyond gratitude. I still remember the time and place during my freshman year of college when I realized what a terrific family I was part of. Perhaps that was the time when I'd heard a critical mass of stories of other families whose members didn't treat each other with the love and support that mine did, and does. But it was a pivotal moment for me -- I identify it as a significant event in my becoming an adult.

At that moment, I realized that I couldn't just feel lucky or even just be grateful for this good fortune of mine. Now that I was conscious of it, I had to pull my weight to make it continue to be true. I had to do my part to promote loving, healthy family dynamics... for the rest of my life.

It doesn't stop at the borders of family, either. I have to pull my weight in my friendships, in my professional relationships and opportunities, in my community of neighbors and strangers.

Don't just be grateful. Take action. Pull your weight.