Take 100% Responsibilty for Your Life

This is the beginning of a series of scattered posts that include powerful principles that are helping me run fearless. It's incredible.

I was going to do it on a separate blog like I mentioned in my post The Success Principles, but I'm finding it hard to keep two blogs up and running. Join me now as I begin a Julie and Julia type examination and experiment of The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. With that said here is principle 1:

Principle 1 of The Success Principles is to take 100% responsibility. Canfield says that we must take 100% responsibility for everything in our lives. We usually blame others for unfortunate things and take credit for the wonderful things, but what is taught is we are the ones responsible.

That's what we have to do. In order to be successful, achieve our wildest dreams and become what we want to become we must take full responsibility for everything that happens in our lives. We have to stop playing the blame game. We have to stop giving excuses. We have to stop complaining.

What then is the solution? What can we do? I don't know why I'm talking in the first-person plural when this is my deal. Please forgive me and allow me to repent. What can I do? How can I take 100% responsibility? I have a couple of choices. I can either blame the event for my lack of results or I can change my response.

For me personally I could say, "I'm not a great runner because I have never had a great coach. I never knew how to train well and my personal needs were such that I needed extra help, but never got it."

OR, I could change my response and say, "I am the one that needs to learn what I need best. It is my fault I'm not a great runner right now because I expected everyone to help me. It is MY responsibility to know me and understand how I can become my very best, strongest and fastest."

I want to conclude by saying this is tough! It kind of hurts and I resist when I think that everything is a result of something that I have created. The cool part, for me at least, is as I realize I'm doing this I have the ability to stop it and make a difference in my life. Canfield proposes some questions we can ask ourselves:

1. How am I creating this or allowing this to happen?
2. What am I doing that's working that I need to do more of?
3. What am I doing that's not working?
4. What do I need to do less of?
5. What am I not doing that I need to try on to see if it works?

As I pay attention to what I think, say and do I have been able to see patterns in my life. As I take 100% responsibility I feel empowered. I hope you do/will too. Run fearless.