If You Want To Be Poor & Unhappy – Don’t Read This
Everyone, including you, needs to take responsibility for where they are in life. There are two types of people in the world – those who think with an internal locus of control and those who have an external one. Internals know that they control their destiny; they believe in willpower and positive thinking. They are determined to control their own life, and accept that what happens to them is because of their actions.
Externals believe that they are the victims of circumstances and fate. If they go to bed drunk and with a lit cigarette which causes their house to burn down, well that is just an example of their bad luck, not their poor decisions and bad habits.
Having an internal locus of control is the one to have if you want to live a life that makes you happy because with it you will overcome negative circumstances.
You need to realize that you are the only one responsible to obtain the life you wish to have. There is no one else that cares about your life goals as much as you do. You need to go out and get what you want from the tree of life.
Crap will happen in your life. You might lose your job. A person close to you might die. You might get sick. Sucky things will happen, but wallowing in bad thoughts is just wasting time. Do what it takes to find a solution to the problem.
The same thing goes with people you think are more fortunate. If someone was born with a silver spoon in their mouth and you weren’t, it makes no difference in your life. It will do you no good to be miserable or jealous of it, work to get to where you want to be.
It is an overwhelmingly strong way to live your life. If you live in a free (as much as can be said of any country in the world today) country, you can control basically everything in your life. If you are in an abusive relationship, leave. If you want to be strong, lift weights. If you want to earn more money, go and do it.
I know what you are thinking, “It’s not as easy as just saying the words.”
If something is easy, everyone would have it. Life is not supposed to just be easy without working hard first. Human beings do not greatly value what they haven’t work for.
There is an old saying that the self-help gurus love to tell people. “We change our behavior when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing.”
If you don’t like something in your life, change it. Otherwise be content with it. There is no other successful way to deal with it. Wallowing in your bad situation is just pooping in your cheerios. It only makes the situation worse.
You can be a better person. You can have a better life. It is not easy, but oh so worth it. I have had to perform plenty of hard work and long hours to get to the point that I am in today. Soon I will have completely created my own ‘basic income.’ I will live the life I want, a goal I have worked towards for nearly two decades.
It took all that time, but you know what? The best things do.
I planted my seeds long ago, and soon my orchard will provide the things I need to live for the rest of my life. If you want this for yourself you need to be out there planting seeds that you can harvest years from now.
These things do not grow up overnight, but they do grow imperceptibly each day. Always keep your goal in mind and work towards it every day. Slowly your efforts will build upon the previous and grow something great.
A plant will grow out of a tiny crack. A tree will grow out of the side of a cliff. The seed landed where it did and even though it wasn't in the perfect situation, it refused to give up! It doesn't matter where you are in life, your seeds can grow with your effort.
If you are wasting your life, if you are not planting seeds for tomorrow, you need to get with it. Nobody else is going to plant your seeds for you, so get up and go do it. If this is the first time in your life that you are doing so it might be scary, but know that this is how you get the life you want.
The worst thing that can happen is that your newly planet seed doesn’t grow that time. Learn what you did wrong and try again.
And even when you give up, don't give up. You can fail to the point where you just don't give a damn.
But you don't have to stay like that.
Thanks for this post; need it this week!
You're welcome!
Phenomenal life advice there, buddy. Now I just need to devise a game plan and stick with it!
That you do man, and never give up! (maybe adjust sometimes though :D)
Great article. I always tell my peers that self belief is the key to any success. Believe in you first before you believe other people. Do what makes you happy before you make other people happy.
So true, just like they tell you in the pre-flight safety briefing; don your mask before helping others. You need to take care of yourself first, only then can you really help someone else.
I love to read your articles - they are very good. Keep on with sharing information about what u do and what u think. Thumbs up
Thank you so much for the kind words, I won't stop sharing! :)
Yes, all this is true, unfortunately our modern society wants it all, now. It's a conditioning that's been inoculated in the collective subconscious for a very long time; people have grown weak and dependent, most of them.
Yes, we're responsible for our lives and our choices, and there are really no excuses; still, between the black and white attitudes you described, there's plenty of gray. Switching from passive to active has various degrees of difficulty, depending on personality types, life experience etc.
This post is an excellent eye opener for people who are ready to make the change, yet it can appear judgemental for those who have low self esteem, who think they are weak and so on.
I would also add that, during my own long years of self improvement, there have been times when I felt weak, when I questioned every choice I made, when I felt that the smallest action I had to take would cost me a lot of effort. The most difficult part was to see myself objectively - and accept myself as I was.
There's no way one can change things without accepting oneself as he/she truly is, without judgement, without guilt. Just see yourself in the mirror of your own conscience, accept what you see, then change what needs to be changed.
I'm quite sure you know what I'm talking about.
Good post, I'm glad to have read it :)
For some it can be a comforting feeling when someone tells you that everything wrong in your life is not your fault, someone else is to blame. You don’t need to try to improve your situation, relax - poor you, the whole world wanted you to fail.
The good thing is since victim mentality and helplessness is a learned trait, it can be changed. To truly help people, this nonsense of victimhood will have to be unlearned. Like you said though, it has been deeply ingrained and won't be easy for many people.
Great comment, thanks for writing it up!
Geeze, I try to be the left stick guy... nice and bright for a Friday afternoon @getonthetrain.
left stick guy, best guy :D
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