Owning Your Life
April 20, 2009 by Joe Gigantino
It’s your life – Own it!
”True freedom begins and ends with personal accountability.” – Dan Zadra
“It’s not my fault – if only I had grown up living with both parents, I wouldn’t be the way I am.”
“If only I had more education, I would have gotten that promotion at work.”
“I don’t have good genes – so there’s nothing I can do about my weight.”
Sound like excuses? All of us at one time or another make similar comments, usually to justify a situation or a place we are in our lives. To say that you can always control situations is certainly not true, but you alone are responsible for your thoughts, emotions, and actions in regards to that situation.
Don’t allow a label to define who you are
The truth is – you are not a victim. You have full ownership of your life, and it is up to you to make the most of it. Take your health for example. You own full rights to your body – you can choose what you eat, how much or little you exercise, and even how much risk you subject yourself to. Your parents may have raised you on Twinkies and potato chips, but you can change those bad habits by making appropriate lifestyle choices today. You may have been labeled with a particular ailment or disorder. The diagnosis may be true, but try not to use that particular “label” as a crutch to excuse or justify your behavior or lifestyle choices.
Emotions must be managed
The same holds true for spiritual and emotional matters. You can choose to be happy regardless of a comment someone makes in passing or whether your friends remember your birthday or not. If you choose to be sad, that’s fine, but don’t blame others for your emotions. Feelings need to be managed, and although emotions are part of life, it’s your decision as to how you translate those emotions into actions. You are not entitled to blame others. No one can make you feel or react in a certain way. By accepting your emotions as part of who you are, you are empowered to control those emotions and actions.
Perfect timing is generally a myth
You often hear people use the term “perfect timing.” Maybe they’ll say they’ll stop smoking when their stress level goes down, or will exercise when it’s cooler/warmer outside. These are all examples of people waiting for just the right day and time when their “cosmos” align. The truth is, if you’re waiting for “perfect timing” to make important changes in your life, whether it be a relationship, a job move, a good time to stop smoking or start exercising, you’ll wait forever. There will never be the perfect moment as making choices always involve risk.
If you want to change your life – stop waiting for perfection and act now. You have more freedom than you realize. Where you are in life is based on decisions you made in the past, and where you will be in the future is determined by what you change today. What are you waiting for? If you’ve been thinking of getting fit or even moving to another level in your fitness routine, there’s no time like today. Take responsibility and go – it’s your life, so own it!
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This message is timeless !! We all do have control over our lives and possess the unbelievable power to make changes in an instant. The “proof” is in the pudding here. You have to apply it to make it work !!
Thanks Fred, you are absolutely right!
- Joe G.
Just read this. The first quote caught my eye initially, but after reading this post, I'll just say that it is timely & timeless (as Fred had mentioned) for me first now. Thanks for the challenge, Joe! Keep up the great work here!
I don't many blogs but I enjoyed reading your blog b/c it had many helpful ideas to manage life and health. Thank you!
Thanks for the reminder about what's really important in life, Joe. The serenity prayer is one of the things that helped me get through the hardest parts of my daughter's disability. I absolutely love how you turned things around and raised the point of how we absolutely cannot let ourselves "accept the things we CAN change". It's not just having the courage to change the things we can, it's getting going when the going gets tough!