If Not You, Then Who?

Not trying to put you on the spot personally, but if you really think about it, it’s SO much easier to blame all of our short comings or issues on someone or something else. Think about it, there’re many of us that have almost perfected the art of pointing a finger or passing the buck. All for the temporary satisfaction of not having to be wrong or out of sync.  Can’t you hear you saying, “Well I would’ve lost more weight last year if so and so would have gone with me to the gym.” Or “The reason my relationship isn’t working is because he/she doesn’t put enough effort into it.” Or “I would’ve saved more money by now but I had to lend so and so some and it threw me off.”  STOP IT!!! (sorry for yelling. J) Enough already!  In no way am I suggesting that things haven’t happened to possibly contribute to slowing you down. However, the truth of the matter is YOU are the common denominator in every situation that hasn’t worked out thus far.  The bottom line is if we’re going step things up then we’ve got to take strides to get rid of some of OUR stuff.  Understand that the key phrase here is “OUR STUFF”. It’s yours (mine) and no one is more responsible for your joy, peace and progress than YOU!   Nobody can or should want more for you than you. Even if your goals and aspirations for this year or life going forward include others, you are responsible for your well being first and then adding that to the mix of other strong and progressive people. Again, understanding that self reflection or taking self responsibility is not easy, here are a few suggestions to help in the process:

1. Evaluate  Don’t Exaggerate -  This process is part of your personal mental, spiritual, and emotional cleanse. It’s meant to be a good thing for your present and your future. Don’t be overly hard on yourself on what was, focus on what’s going to be.


2. Go For The Gold - One of the ways that you can keep this process closer to the positive side of your perspective is to set goals for yourself that YOU have to accomplish on your own. There is nothing like a personal sense of accomplishment in order to strengthen your resolve.


3. Journal Your Journey– It’s always good to keep a journal where you can write your goals, accomplishments, shortcoming and even roadblocks if necessary. Writing things down actually keeps you accountable and can show you clearly areas where you may tend to want to dump the responsibility of you off on someone else.


4. Learn, Listen and Love YOU – If we’re going to shed our “stuff” so we can move on, there’s a slight process of relearning who we are and even more importantly who we’re working to be. In the process of LEARNING this new more responsible you, don’t be afraid to LISTEN to your true heart. No more telling yourself what you can’t do or what you aren’t. LISTEN to the power coming from within your heart. The more responsible, respectable and resilient you is speaking, LISTEN! Finally, LOVING yourself is one of the most powerful fuel sources that any of us could ever wish to have. As I’ve stated, taking self responsibility may not be easy at first, but the more learn to LOVE you, is the more you will be able to reflect, release and regroup.

Article presented by Gary Walsh Jr., “The Engagement Strategist”, is a Best Selling Author, Radio Show Host, Professional Speaker and Coach/Consultant whose passion is to help individuals, organizations, companies, groups and teams solve productivity problems by bringing the zeal back into the workforce and their lives. Mr. Walsh is a contributing Best Selling Author in the recently released book “Fight For Your Dreams!” a collaborative effort with Motivational Speaker Les Brown. As well as in the process of completing two solo literary projects “Dream Out Loud!” (A motivational series) and “Leading For Life!” (An empowering guide on engaged leadership) Gary can be heard each Monday night at 6pm EST as the host of Zeal Talk Radio on www.rocktheflow.com. Contact Gary via www.zealgroup.com or connect with him via Face Book Fan page – Success In Motion, Inc. & Twitter @garysuccess