THE FIVE POTSC CHARACTER TRAITS

By Mike Foster: Over the next few weeks, I'm really excited to be sharing more about People of the Second Chance and where we are headed. Both as an organization and a movement of people wanting to unleash second chance living in their lives.

Honestly, we have been as clear as mud the last 12 months. We've been too vague, unclear and basically figuring it out as we go.

The next few weeks I will be rolling out the roadmap of the journey we are going on. It will be the basic construct of People of the Second Chance and what's coming up. What should you expect from us? What should we expect from you? Basic stuff like that.

As I have read and researched this summer I have thought a lot about what type of character traits that we want to develop in individuals through People of the Second Chance. How do we grow people? What do we want them to become? What does a POTSCer look like? Act like? What defines them?

I read about the qualities of survivors and individuals that overcome massive struggles. I studied people who came back from horrific seasons of life. I researched great grace givers. I've had incredible discussions with people in the POTSC community and listened to their ideas about grace, failure, pain and second chances.

HERE ARE THE POTSC FIVE:

1. EMPATHY: You have a heartfelt connection to the pain and struggle of others. You bring comfort and not judgment. You are an effective heart handler to those who are hurting. As you help others you help yourself. You avoid selfishness.

2. TENACITY: You are steadfast and resilient when you feel like giving up on yourself and others. You stay the course and demonstrate grit and toughness even when it is difficult.

3. COURAGE: You are willing to take risks and operate out of your personal comfort zone. The acts of grace and forgiveness require extreme bravery to surrender our rights to get even. Courage is demanded to live a life of surrender. This trait is required to live honestly and to have “everything in the light” in the context of community.

4. PURPOSE: You live every moment and savor your existence knowing that your life impacts the world for the good. With purpose you can persevere. You set goals and work hard to achieve them. Life is a gift from God so work hard to make the most of it. You are not a victim.

5. HOPE: You embrace a hope that is a combination of optimism and realism. You comprehend that with failure comes loss but also is the seed for something better. Hope moves us to a place where healing can occur and has clear spiritual, psychological and physical benefits.

This is not an exhaustive list. But these are the five traits that POTSC will focus on. Whatever we create, say, write, blog, record, post, Tweet, film and speak about from this platform, we want to make sure we are helping lead people to grow in these areas.

I’m sure some will say, “But what about (love, grace, truth, faith, good looking, you fill in the blank)?” I totally get that. I wanted to add more but as I did that it became too general. These are the five this organization focuses on. Other organizations will focus on the others.

I want these vital attributes to be a part of your life and my life. These traits define you and align you with this movement. These are the attributes that we want to grow and multiply as we become People of the Second Chance.