Let Go of the Victim in You

I like the idea of a 15 minute time limit to write my thoughts so am going to do it again. I figure this way I can get more posts out (I'll aim for a minimum of 1 per week) rather than attempt to make time to do a mammoth one every so often. Writing regularly keeps the creative juices flowing anyway for me so here goes. This week I want to talk about letting go of a victim mentality and becoming more proactive in our daily lives. Bottom line: life is not fair. Everyone has 'stuff' happen to them in life so no one is exempt from pain. The real question is, 'What are you going to do now?' Trying to control other people's actions is not only exhausting for you, but it also isn't healthy and guarantees you will remain in codependent relationships. The one person I do have control over is ME. We have the power to choose our responses to other people's actions and man, what a power that is. The power of our free will is one of the most untapped resources out there. If more people lived out of an awareness that they, and they alone, can control their attitude, their responses, their actions, I have no doubt that we'd see many more people fulfilling their life's potential and dreams.

Not only does maintaining a victim mentality dis-empower me by placing the results of my current life circumstances in the hands of other people (and possibly people who don't even care for or love me,) but it pretty much ensures that unless I find a way to make everyone else act the way I want them to (because, after all, they and not me are the controllers of my future) I am doomed to never have the life I want. I'm not saying we ignore the pains that others have inflicted - knowingly or unknowingly - upon us. What I am saying is that the benefits that come from forgiving and releasing people empower MY life and vastly outweigh the 'growing pains' that I may experience when I choose to let go of blaming the 'outer world' for my inner turmoil.

I recently read 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' and one of the most impacting personal epiphanies for Stephen Covey in the book was when he came across a quotation that said, 'Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In those choices lie our growth and our happiness.'

I'm outta time so I'll leave you with that thought. :)