I CANNOT emphasise enough the importance of ownership in our lives.
It is a key to success, health and happiness, which practically every human being strives for, but you will fail to succeed in any of these areas unless ownership is a very strong part of the relationship.
I can hear someone say ‘ah but you could achieve wealth by winning the lotto’ but statistics will show that many of these people will lose that money if they don’t accompany it with ownership and responsibility.
In fact I would bet it has been the ruination of many people’s lives. Quote – “Money won’t make me happy but Lord I would like to find out for myself!”
When I talk about ownership to people I often pose the question – ‘give me a sentence with ten words with two letters in each word that will motivate you?’
I then pause for a little to allow them to come up with a suitable answer which they inevitably won’t be able to. I then proceed to ask them to hold up ten ‘fingers ‘in each hand and drop a finger as I say a word. So here goes.
IF IT IS TO BE
IT IS UP TO ME
This is a very powerful sentence as it allows me to take ownership and responsibility for all areas of my life – the ’successes’ and the ‘failures’.
Continued below…
If I don’t take ownership first, nothing is going to change. Ownership means basically that ‘I am taking charge’ of my life and I am not going to blame other people or life’s circumstances for my circumstances.
A life free from blame and negativity – how good would that be?
To achieve this we must look very closely at our decision making process (choices) which is ultimately governed by our thought process (cognitive behaviour!). I find the following diagram to be a very useful tool.
Life Changing Decision Question – Am I above the line or below the line (below).
Ownership
Accountability
Responsibility
——————————–
Blame
Excuses
Denial
Continued below…
If we truly want to change our lives for the better we have to be responsible for the choices that we make and remain ‘above the line’ as much as possible.
We are human so if we slip below the line the best response is some forgiveness and to try as much and as quickly as possible to go back above the line. To make a conscious effort to stay above the line and to steer our lives (OAR) in a positive direction and to stay away from negativity (BED)
Quote: Everyone is looking for freedom, but with freedom comes responsibility – Nelson Mandela.
Take ownership of your own life and stay above the line.
Next week I am going to talk about the meaning behind the word ‘personality’!
• Roger Harty is a life coach and can be contacted on 087-6128336, on twitter at @Innerjoyz1 or by email rogharty@gmail.com
