I know for some of us, life can be tough. Really, life can kick us down at times. Continue to work on yourself, be tough on yourself. When you are tough on yourself, life will become easier. We must take one hundred percent responsibility for our lives in order to get what we want. Taking one hundred percent responsibility means we can no longer play the blame game. It doesn’t work, and it robs you of your ability to make things better. How can you make things better if you blame? It is impossible. One hundred percent responsibility means that we can no longer live our lives as if someone is coming to bail us out.
You are in control. No one is coming to save your marriage; no one is coming to save your finances; no one is coming to save your relationship with your children; and no one is coming to save your health. One hundred percent responsibility means that you are always asking yourself the question, “What am I doing to cause this situation or grief in my life?” This is a life-changing question. Put this one on your bathroom mirror. Once you answer it, ask yourself, “What am I going to do about it?” Recognize the areas of your life that you are not happy with, take responsibility for them, and change it! This is the way to get what you want! The moment you take total and complete responsibility for every result in every area of your life is the moment you begin to get what you want.
We must take control of everything we can control and then let go of everything else. If we can’t control it, then we can still control how we choose to respond to it. When it comes to other people, for example, what others do, say, or think, is their responsibility, not ours. We have no control over that. Have you heard the comment, “Life would be great if it weren’t for other people?” Well, I wonder how that is working out? Do people still make you really mad? Do others really have that much control over your emotional state? Do they really have that much power over you? We have the power to control our attitude, our mood, and every emotion we feel.
The next time you get ready to react to what someone else did, remind yourself that you are being tested on self-control and this person is your teacher. Pass the test! Become a master of Jedi mind control, and play the game of responding to someone proactively. Don’t react to them. Take their communication in, assess their words and emotions and ask yourself what they need. Respond knowing your response will be the cure to what they need. For example, someone begins to yell at you. They are really saying, “I’m scared, hurt, and feeling out of control.” Instead of yelling back, your response is one that addresses these emotions. Your response is one that will get the outcome you want. Your response is one to get this person back to sanity.
This realization that you are in control is a game changer. Do you plan your days or just let them happen? Instead of saying, “Have a nice day,” start saying, “Make it a great day!” We are the captains of our ship. We control the direction of our ship by the choices we make. We do create our destiny. Will the next five choices you make help or hurt the life you want to create? Each choice we make throughout our lives has a consequence, whether it is positive or negative. Control your choices. Every choice we make in life starts a motion that will come back to us in some way. Are you living your life today to create the life you want tomorrow? We really do create the quality of our life by the choices we make every day. If you like or don’t like your life, what choices are you making that are contributing to that?