Showing posts with label responsibility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label responsibility. Show all posts

Saturday, May 4, 2013

There's No Reset Button on Life



There’s a lot of talk in the media about “starting anew”.
We get indoctrinated with it from when we’re young and the grownups have their New Years Resolutions. But from there, things just go down the driveway.
Before you know it, people are giving you “clean starts” and “new beginnings”, even if you’ve been shoved in jail all night for unsuitable touching.
There’s nothing wrong with changing the way we act, it’s just the way we approach it. There’s this thought that life has a reset button, like a game. That if we don’t like what’s going on, we can get back to the last save point – an ok situation where nothing’s great but nothing’s bad – and start all over again.
But life doesn’t work like that.
That view of life misses all the lost opportunities you’ve forgone, it doesn’t recognize that just because you reset, most other people won’t accept your decision.
It doesn’t even recognize the good you can learn from making mistakes.
Instead of looking for the reset, the start over, look for the turn around. This is where you say, “that does it! I’ve had enough. No more twinkies. I’m losing weight”.
Or when you say, “I’m taking control of my life. I need to take more responsibility for my actions if I want things to get better”.
When we decide we want things to change, we CAN change them.
But we must realize that we’ve got to create change out of the crumbs of our old life. Only by navigating the struggles of the old can be find the wonders of the new.
Not by “resetting”.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

The Beef with Ground Hog Day




So, today is Groundhog Day… nothing wrong with that. It’s a fun day, one that I enjoy immensely. Since Kindergarten, I’ve always liked guessing whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow or not and how long the winter will, in theory, stretch on. And, to top it all off, it inspired a verrry good film of the same title starring Bill Murray (one of my heroes… if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour and get a copy − my Mum, a Murray-hater, even loved it).

But I do get a tad annoyed with people’s response to the day.

Now, I know I might be about to kick a landmine, but hear me out.

For some people, Groundhog Day is a very serious event. They get up early, checking the news channels, listening to radio stations, waiting for a sign.

People are so desperate to be told what the future is going to be like, they’ll even seek advice from a groundhog. The thing is, whether he sees his shadow or not doesn’t matter.

I’ll go one step further − if the winter stretches on for six more weeks or twenty, it shouldn’t matter either.

And, contrary to what you may be thinking now, it isn’t because the tradition lacks merit.

Heck, maybe Mr. Groundhog can sense how long winter will stretch on − maybe he’s right. I’m certainly not questioning his season-reading abilities.

It’s that both he and the six weeks of winter are external factors. Whether it snows for longer or not, your plans shouldn’t be altered. You shouldn’t be disappointed either way, even if you do believe in the shadow-sighting theory.

You are responsible for your life − the more responsible you are, the more you’ll feel like you’re at the wheel of your destiny, in charge and confident of it. The more you give away control to a groundhog, your spouse or even your boss, you’re gradually losing ground to the world outside your circle of influence. And you’re losing the deep value you receive for earning a life well lived.

So, don’t take offense, Punxsutawney Phil; you’re certainly not the problem. Nor are you, Mother Winter. But you, dear reader, may be… take responsibility for as much as you possibly can. You’ll feel better for it − extra winter or not.

Talk to you next week!