3 Lessons To Learn From Lance Armstrong's Confession

After years of Lance Armstrong denying the use of performance-enhancing drugs during his cycling career, his recent confession is generating intense reactions from many people. The truth is it's often easy and more comfortable in these situations for people to stand on the outside peering in through a judgmental frame.

When someone shows us a glimpse of human error through behaviors such as lying and cheating, we are left with a choice to either take the ego's default path of judgment and blame or take the road less traveled and use these moments to look at oursleves and discover opportunities for our own personal growth and evolution.

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Here are three life lessons we can glean from Lance Armstrong's situation:

1. Humans are imperfect. Let's face it, we aren't exactly thrilled with the idea of acknowledging our imperfections, are we? While I can't speak specifically to what led Lance Armstrong to make the choices he made, I can say that as humans we are not perfect. When we are not ready to face certain truths in our lives we often avoid, justify and deny it sometimes to oursleves and to others. 

Armstrong's public expression of his vulnerability can help us remember to discover where we may be lying to ourselves. Longstanding denial creates profound disconnection from ourselves and others and often leads to more temptation toward dishonesty. It's time to acknowledge your imperfection, forgive yourself and welcome the truth.

2. Humans want to feel needed, loved and accepted. Let's allow the witnessing of Armstrong's confession to shine light on the places in our lives where we are abandoning our own values in exchange for the approval of others. Where have you been willing to justify your behaviors and choices to be included, approved of and/or rewarded?

3. We are all held accountable for our actions. It is easy for the ego to abuse privilege and power when a person is in a position of authority. It takes a significant amount of self-awareness and accountability to remain grounded and to make choices that resonate with our divine purpose rather than taking advantage of that power and authority. Be mindful today of what positions of power you hold. 

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