“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” ~George Bernard Shaw
Are we products of circumstances? There are times when things happen to us that are completely out of our control. It’s important to recognize that while you may have no control over what happens to you, you have complete control over how you to choose to respond and whether you choose to be the captain of your ship in life.
Not taking responsibility may seem less demanding, less painful and mean less time spent in the unknown. After all, if others are responsible for your success or failure, it means you can put in as much effort or as little effort and not be responsible for the outcomes in your life.
It’s more comfortable. You can just take it easy and blame problems in your life on someone else. The downside is there is a high and hidden cost of choosing this path. When you don’t take responsibility for your life you give away your personal power and limit your ability to truly experience all life has to offer you.
Today’s affirmation is a simple one designed to help you take full responsibility for your life:
I am the architect of my life
I am ultimately responsible for the life I experience. I can change nearly any aspect of my life, so I create the life I desire.
I am free of the belief that circumstances control my life. Circumstances simply provide a starting point. The direction of my journey is the same. Some circumstances might make changes more difficult, but I am up for the challenge.
I choose goals and activities that move my life in a positive direction. I have a vision for my life that supports my dreams and the people closest to me. I put plans into place and review those plans each week.
I see the opportunities around me and leverage those opportunities to the best of my abilities. When I do this, my life gets better. The more my life is enhanced, the more control I feel I have over it.
The best things in my life usually require the most work.
My life is my masterpiece. I take full responsibility for my past, current, and future circumstances.
Today, I renew my commitment to designing my life. I am working harder and efficiently at making my life exactly the way I want it to be.
Self-Reflection Questions:
1. What can I do immediately that would enhance my life the most?
2. Do I have goals in place so I can stay on track?
3. What resources am I under utilizing?
I am very confident in my ability to design my life and to make that vision come to fruition. I realize that it takes a little bit of effort each day to achieve any substantial results. I am happy to put forth that effort.
“The same wind blows on us all. The economic wind, the social wind, the political wind. The same wind blows on everybody. The difference in where you arrive in one year, three years, five years, the difference in arrival is not the blowing of the wind but the set of the sail.” Jim Rohn
It seems like everywhere you turned this past year, you heard stories of friends and colleagues having tough times.
It’s easy to mistakenly think tough times exist to keep us from achieving a goal. In reality, tough times exist to help us develop new “response” muscles and to help us discover things about ourselves that we may not have discovered otherwise.
Today’s affirmation is to simply remind you that you are bigger than any challenge in front of you: Tough times make me more tenacious.
I accept that life is filled with a variety of experiences. I treasure the good times and allow the positive memories to last. I take the tough times and use them to make myself a stronger person.
I believe the best way to build inner strength and focus is to experience tough situations. These situations force me to find solutions.
I am more resolute after making it through a challenging situation. My self-esteem increases when I realize I have made it through something difficult. I am prepared the next time around to handle it flawlessly.
I strive for a happy life, so when challenges arise, I am determined to overcome them. I know I deserve to return to the uncomplicated happiness I am accustomed to. So I push myself to overcome the challenges.
Even when others tell me to give up, I persevere. I am persistent because I know everything is possible if I only believe. When there seems to be no way out, I start digging a new exit path.
I am unfazed by naysayers. I recognize they only exist to distract me.
Today, I am proud of the person I have become. I know that the hardships I sometimes face only last for a relatively short time. I make it through these challenges knowing that they help make me more tenacious.
Self-Reflection Questions:
1. Is my tenacity sometimes viewed as stubbornness?
2. Where and when have I succeeded in spite of enormous odds?
3. How am I better as a result of those experiences?
I think Jim Rohn is one of the greatest teachers and mentors that ever lived. He has inspired me on so many levels.
[author] [author_info]Personal success is built on the foundation of character, and character is the result of hundreds and hundreds of choices you may make that gradually turn who you are at any given moment into who you want to be. If that decision-making process is not present, you’ll still be somebody—you’ll still be alive—but you may have a personality rather than a character, and to me that’s something very different.Character isn’t something you were born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints. It’s something you must take responsibility for forming. You build character by how you respond to what happens in your life, whether it’s winning every game, losing every game, getting rich or dealing with hard times.
You build character from certain qualities that you must create and diligently nurture within yourself, just like you would plant and water a seed or gather wood to build a campfire. You’ve got to look for those things in your heart and in your gut. You’ve got to chisel away in order to find them, just like chiseling away rock to create the sculpture that previously existed only in the imagination.
But the really amazing thing about character is that, if you’re sincerely committed to making yourself into the person you want to be, you’ll not only create those qualities, you’ll strengthen them and re-create them in abundance, even as you’re drawing on them every day of your life. That’s why building your character is vital to becoming all you can be.
Forging Your Character by Jim Rohn[/author_info] [/author]
