Think about a time when you’ve been down and out. Perhaps work isn’t going well, your car broke down or you're financially broke and your personal life is hanging by a thread. You feel completely out of control. “It doesn’t matter what I do, this sh** happens anyway” you tell yourself. It’s as though you’re a chess piece in a game you have no control over, or do you?
Placing yourself in the victim mentality only places you in a position of powerlessness. Being the victim doesn’t solve any ones problems, rather, it enhances them. I think today’s society glamorizes the victim mentality and has made it the norm. Sayings like “its not fair", "it’s their fault"etc. perpetuate the problem.
I’m not sure about everyone else, but for me personally, December has been an extremely tough month. Murphy’s Law was definitely in full swing. Instead of having a pity party for myself (which I admittedly indulged in a few times), I made an intentional decision to take ownership of things that went wrong. I said to myself. “those things are in the past, but what can I do now to change my outcome going forward? Work harder? Be more positive? Not be a sore loser?" Perhaps all three, but it was amazing to notice how simply taking ownership and accountability for my circumstances put me back in the driver’s seat of my life and provided peace of mind.
I'm not saying be blissfully ignorant, but give yourself a short window of time to be mad, upset or sad and then TAKE ownership. Acknowledging the difficulty of a situation can surprisingly provide the strength you need get through a hurdle. Putting a plan in place and developing a mentality to attack your goals with gusto will also give you more control.
The word decision is from the Latin word dēcīdere which literally means to “cut off”. Making a decision is about cutting off alternative choices and cutting out alternative actions. Although this sounds harsh, it’s extremely empowering. DECIDE that you are in control. Decide to eliminate all those negative thoughts and self sabotaging behaviors that are hindering your progression.
I hope this post empowers anyone who's had a tough month to to keep on keeping on!
Until next time :)