Whenever public figures are involved in scandal it makes the news. For a short time, it becomes common gossip and fodder for cable TV and late night talk shows. Their dysfunctional behavior is, you can be sure, tied to unresolved emotional issues in their lives. And regardless of what public figures do or don’t do, such moments offer each of us an important opportunity!

Used wisely, they can encourage us to pause and reflect upon our own ways of thinking and behaving. They can offer a time to consider what we do with stress, disappointments, fears, anxiety, and pain. If we don’t learn to handle these emotions in positive ways, they can lead us in the wrong direction, too.

Taking periodic and scrupulously honest self-inventory is essential for anyone wanting to be responsible and mature. It is important as a guide in deciding how we use our time. Do we use it to move our lives ahead in productive directions? Or do we engage in self-destructive behavior that could have been avoided? Looking at oneself honestly is key in all loving relationships, because by definition healthy relationships require us to listen to what our intimate others say about how they experience us. If we can’t believe in that loving feedback, it is easy to behave in ways that can potentially push love away.

The good news is that in any moment you are truly ready to look at and change the less positive parts of your life, it is entirely do-able. You just have to choose to invest more time in taking care of who and what is really important to you.

Of course if it were easy to change you would have already done it. It will require more effort, discipline and commitment than you may be used to, but if you are up to the challenge, success can be yours! And you’ll love how good you’ll feel about that.

Don’t wait like Clinton, Spitzer, Woods, Weiner and many others have, until the pain and interpersonal dysfunction in your life causes catastrophic consequences. Step into your life now and change what is not working. Be proactive. Accurately identifying your problems and adjusting the ways you think and behave will let you turn things around.

Take a moment, sit down and take your own inventory. If you need help in clarifying what’s going on or figuring out how to change it, seek qualified help. Don’t waste time in regret. Don’t obsess about a future that isn’t here yet. Do take control of your life now and start making it the way you want it to be.

Image from the Flickrstream of sweet on veg, rainy day inspiration, under Creative Commons license.