Monday, March 31, 2014

The Irritating Truth

In what areas are you taking full responsibility of your life?  In what areas are you only taking partial responsibility of your life?  How successful are the areas of your life that you are only taking partial responsibility?

When it comes to our personal health goals, taking full responsibility is so important to becoming healthy and well.  So many times, I am in a session with a client and they talk themselves out of deciding to pursue health. 

There are many reasons why it seems easier to not take full responsibility.  For example, it is cheaper, more convenient, and much easier to eat fast food or to eat pizza for dinner.  But with every decision, I will bear the consequence to that decision.  If the decision becomes a pattern, my health will eventually suffer for this pattern. 

If I don’t take full responsibility for my health, other areas of my life will most definitely be affected as well.  The tough truth is that if my health is not my responsibility because it is “too hard” or “too expensive” or because there are just too many treats at my office, then I am deferring my responsibility and avoiding the tasks and diligence that it requires to be healthy.  Thus, I am even forgoing my right to have health.

“The truth that you are in charge of your life will set you free only after it really irritates you (Sky St. John).”  It may be an irritating truth that you are the only one in charge of your health, your finances, your career path, and your life and marriage.  It is so annoying that no one can really help me until I decide that I am taking charge.  However, once I delve into the responsibility, I feel the benefits of the diligence and the decision to pursue health. 

Any decision that I defer and chose not to make is already made for me.  If I chose not to ask my boss for a raise, then I chose to stay where I am in my company.  If I chose to leave my job and start a business, then the success or failure of that business is my responsibility and I will reap the joy or sorrow of the end result. 

When I was 25 years old, I took the first step of taking full responsibility of my health by reading 1 book.  As soon as I read that book, I made a decision to change my entire lifestyle to support health.  As soon as I was 30 days into the journey, I was reaping the benefits of more energy, more joy, and more clarity in my mind.

So many of us surrender to the “reality of aging” or have the mentality that certain symptoms of aging are “normal.”  This is a small way that we defer the responsibility that we have to take care of our health. 

“Full responsibility is acknowledging that life is my mirror, every thought is a request, and the only thing that I need to change in order to be happier is me (MK Mueller).”  I have spoken to married women before who are bitter, angry, and hardened towards their husbands.  Many times, I hear the women complain bitterly that if only their husband loved them more then they would be happy or they would be able to love their children more.  I was saddened when one mother told me how she rejected her son because she was not happy in her marriage with her husband.  Her son suffered much by being rejected by his mother.  However, she did not take full responsibility for this thought and behavior towards her child.  Rather, she blamed her husband for her rejecting her son. 

As long as she continues to believe the lie that her husband is responsible for the rejection of her son, she will continue with the behavior of rejecting her son.  The husband will not suffer for it because he is oblivious.  Instead, she and her son will suffer the consequences of this grave error. 

We only have control over our own lives and we have no control over the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of other human being.  We must choose to take full responsibility of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.  When we change our attitude towards our health by choosing the annoying reality that I am the only one who will keep myself health, then we will reap the benefits of choosing a healthy lifestyle.