“You must first accept that while there are things that have happened in your life that you had no say in, YOU are 100 percent responsible for what you do with your life in the aftermath of those events. ALWAYS, every time, no excuses.” – Gary John Bishop
I am reading, well actually, listening, to a book on Audible called Unfu*k Yourself: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life I’m only about halfway through but this book is a real kick in the butt.The ideas are not new, and Gary is not a soft and fuzzy hugs all around kind of guy, but does a great job telling us to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and ACT. If you don’t like something, change; change how you view it or act change the situation.
We all have good intentions, grand ideas and plans but……
We are not our thoughts, we are what we DO.
Bishop insists that we need to act on those thoughts and dreams, starting in the tiniest of ways if need be, even if we don’t feel like it.When we choose not to act, we have to face the fact that we’re not willing to move toward what we really do want. Inaction IS an action and can be debilitating, and have a domino effect, leading you deeper toward what you don’t want. You may feel safe and protected in your inaction but it is not serving you.
I hadn’t planned on writing a book review, “pep talk” when I started this post but his words have had an impact on me. There’s nothing in this book I have not heard before but his language and words are to the point and basically tell us life is short and YOU are the key to changing it if you are not happy where you are in it!
Here are some more quotes….
“Remember, everything is solve-able, and if you can’t see a solution, it only means you haven’t worked it out yet.”
“You have the life you’re willing to put up with.”
“Positive self-talk can dramatically improve mood, boost confidence, increase productivity, and more. Much more. In fact, as evidenced by Professor Hart and his studies, it can be one of the key components to a happy, successful life. The bad news is, the reverse is also true: Negative self-talk can not only put us in a bad mood, it can leave us feeling helpless. It can make small problems seem bigger – and even create problems where none existed before. Here’s the breaking news, your self-talk is fucking you over and in ways you can’t even begin to imagine.”
Some takeaways…..
-You could change your life overnight if you gave up the idea that other peoples’ opinions matter. Be willing to be judged by others and not let it get to you.
– No one can read your mind. Say what’s on it. Share your plans and ideas. That thing that’s making you crazy, might not be on their radar. They could be completely oblivious.
– Even when you don’t see anything happening, it is. Even when you’re not quite hitting the mark, you’re making progress. Doing the mental work and shifting your actions accordingly, sets things in motion.
Uncertainty is where things happen; it’s your personal pathway to growth.
images copyright Shelagh Duffett
