If It's To Be, It's Up To Me!

When it comes to building character, many people try to strike a balance.  Children and adults alike seek out like minded individuals to form alliances with. These friendships and relationships are based on a common philosophy or ideology and while this sameness is the reason for the bond, the individuals struggle to retain their individuality. This can often lead to a sociological kind of wanderer as people drift from group to group trying to find the best "fit" for themselves. Your great aim in life should be to develop character. Character is composed of self-esteem, self-discipline, the ability to delay gratification, and the willingness to accept full responsibility for your life and everything in it.

Developing good character is especially important for the younger generation which lives in a fast paced world with hardly enough time for them. People have to work so much harder to earn and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. Before human needs were simple, essentials did not cost much, but now all of that has changed.  Did you ever stop to think that everything you are or ever will be is completely up to you? Just imagine! You are where you are because of who you are. Everything that exists in your life exists because of you, because of your behavior, words and actions. Because you have freedom of choice and because you have chosen each and every circumstance of your life, you are completely responsible for all of your success and failure, your happiness and unhappiness, you’re present and future.

When it comes time to evaluate the direction of your life it may be wise to consider how we have been conditioned to focus on the external physical aspects of our existence and have missed the most important factor in determining our happiness. Our mind is filled with assumptions, beliefs, and expectations of what will make us happy. These have been collected over years, both consciously, and unconsciously. They affect and even determine our choices in a way that we may not be aware. Hidden assumptions and false beliefs can lead you down the road to disappointment, frustration, and other emotional reactions. Even the beliefs that you agreed to consciously in the past about what would make you happy might not be true anymore.

The above thought can be both scary and exhilarating at the same time. Character building is one of the biggest and most important ideas that can ever occur to you, or anyone else. The acceptance of personal responsibility is what separates the adult from the child. It’s the great leap forward into maturity. Responsibility is the hallmark of the fully integrated, fully functioning human being. Responsibility goes hand in hand with success, achievement, motivation, happiness and self-actualization. It’s the absolute minimum requirement for the accomplishment of everything you could ever really want in life. Accepting that you’re completely responsible for yourself and realizing that no one is coming to the rescue is the beginning of peak performance. There’s very little that you cannot do or have after you accept that “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!” For comments and inquiries, please feel free to contact Dr. Sweets Wilson at wilson.sweets@gmail.com or 860-869-8067.