It’s easy to give your life away. Do you feel like you constantly live for everyone else and never take time for yourself? The ways to take the power to control your own life are quite simple. Doing it? That’s a whole nutter butter sammich.
“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.”
― Susan Polis Schutz
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We’ve worn out the example of oxygen masks on airplanes. It’s become cliche. I usually avoid cliches like the plague, but this one is legit. It’s a mask with oxygen. Those clever, confident and caring flight attendants tell you to give yourself life first. If you fly frequently enough, you know: Listen to the flight attendants!
You have to put your mask on first. You have to take the best possible care of yourself so that you can take the best possible care of the ones you love.
You owe it to the ones you love to take care of yourself.
If you have a job, you have an obligation to your employer to take the best care of yourself so you can do your best at work. Also remember that jobs are temporary, bodies are permanent.
Someone Else Will Take the Power From You
I do disagree with one line of Ms. Schutz’s wise quote.
“No one else can do it for you.”
If you don’t take the power to control your own life, someone will take it for you…
“And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”
-Jim Rohn
You’ll simply be part of their plan. A cog in their machine, their chauffeur, their gopher. Like Aubrey Marcus would say, you get owned.
You at least want to make your own choice of who owns you.
So…like the wise lady said,
Take the Power to Control Your Own Life
It’s a long quote. 343 characters. Too many to Tweet. That’s why I make you fancy images to keep handy. But she tells us what to do and how to do it.
Let’s break down Ms. Shutz’s sage advice.
- Choose What You Want to Do
- Love What You Want
- Control Your Own Life
Choose What You Want to Do
Don’t want to set at a desk all day with constant interruptions and a micromanager huddling around you like you could roast s’mores?
Then start working on what you need to do to change that. You might have to get up early. You might have to say, “NO.”
You have to choose what to do. Do you want to write, run, read or relax? It’s the four Rs. Except for write.
Get up early if you have to, but do you first. Then nothing or nobody can take it from you. Nothing can unexpectedly come up and ruin your routine. You get it done. You live your life.
Then you know the entire rest of the day that you’re the kind of person that does what needs doing, not someone who does what they’re told. That’s just the kind of person you can love.
Love What You Want
Do what you love. Don’t pick something because someone else will like it. Not even me. Maybe me. Do what you love so you can love what you do. Choose what you want and choose something you love so that you can love what you want.
Control Your Own Life
You might have to get up early. You might have to say, “NO.” Is there an echo in here?
You do have to take control, though. If you don’t have a destination, direction and determination, someone will decide for you and set you on a collision course with their plans.
“And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”
-Jim Rohn
Seriously. I think there’s an echo in here.
Just like you put your oxygen mask on first
Why do I keep saying might have to get up early?
“If you don’t have a destination, direction and determination, someone will decide for you and set you on a collision course with their plans.”
The Unexpected
When does the unexpected occur?
All the damn time!
We don’t call it “The Unexpected” because it might not happen.
We call it “the unexpected” because we don’t know what is going to happen or when it’s going to happen. What we do know is if it’s going to happen. YES! And when it’s going to happen. All the damn time!
Yes, I just said we don’t know when, and we do know when. The Unexpected is not an appointment, it’s an inevitability.
Inevitability, a word that is both difficult for me to say and difficult for me to type.
So stop thinking “The Unexpected” is unexpected and that it might not happen. It is going to happen. Do your thing first.
Take the Power to Control Your Own Life
Take it.
Seize it. Check out Seize Responsibility for more.
Don’t be powerless. You deserve to be happy. Too many people depend on you.
No one else can do it for you.
Question:
In what ways do you take the power to control your own life?
