#Occupy #Self #Independence #Responsibility #Levelup #Change #Thanksgiving
I am only 40 years old. Some days I leave out the only because I really feel being 40 years old and it is much less pleasant than I remember 22 feeling. But 40 years is still pretty young in the grand scheme of things. You know when you compare yourself to the entire Jurassic Period for example.
Anyway in my short 40 years on the planet we seem to have gone from societies that embraced rugged individualism and demanded accountability and responsibility from everyone, to societies based mostly on blame and fault. When I was kid if I tripped and skinned my knee my parents would scold me for not being more careful where I put my feet or for running when I should be walking, wipe away the tears, give me a sympathetic hug and tell me to shake it off. Now days it seems like for every skinned knee there is a parent just waiting to sue whoever laid the pavement unevenly or failed to pad it adequately to provide impact resistance.
Maybe this is why we have the Occupy movement? The belief that the current lousy situation so many American's and people around the world find themselves in has nothing to do with themselves at all. That the responsibility lies with a shadowy cabal working in the background to keep them right where they have ended up in life. Faceless individuals or CEO's of big corporations colluding with the Government to keep the people pinned down in poverty and debt slavery.
You know there really might be a shadowy cabal for all I know. But I can promise you they are not the reason you are where you are in life. How do I know that? Well because the only person who is where you are in life is you. You are absolutely and totally unique. Warren Buffett, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Walton, Bill Gates, Steve Job's and thousands of other people who are in the 1% wealth wise had pretty much the same opportunities that you have right now. They took those opportunities and built amazing companies from scratch.
While it might feel reassuring to think that someone else is responsible for you ending up where you are, try taking some accountability and accepting the blame yourself. Because until you do that you don't have a hope in hell in moving from where you are to where you should be. You'll also waste way too much of your precious time dealing with the past and that won't move you into the future it will keep you stuck right where you are in the past. And it continues to give the people who you think wronged you all this power over you. Until you move on and let it go you will not move on and let it go!
Now that doesn't mean the deck isn't stacked against you. With some having a much tougher stack than others. That doesn't mean people won't game the system to give themselves an unfair advantage if they have the opportunity to and that we shouldn't call them on that when we catch them. Punish them and make an example that stops others in the future from doing the same.
But it means you have far more power and control than you are currently giving yourself credit for. You really do get to define in life where you want to be. The first step is appreciating what you have and it is kind of appropriate that we are here on the tail end of Thanksgiving right now. Take a moment to really take stock in what you have. In the blessings you have been given. Every day wake up and spend a few minutes with your eyes closed just counting your blessings. Every night when you close your eyes try to put the distractions of the day out of your mind and appreciate just how good you have it. If the only positive thing you can come up with is that you survived another day that still puts you ahead of the game compared to all those people that didn't!
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