Take Ownership to Gain More
Scott Miker
Most people go through life choosing by default. They don’t actively seek out what they desire, settling for the easiest path in the moment.
But when people are on this path, they don’t realize what they are doing. I spent years living this way and always found someone else to blame for every misstep I took, every bad decision, and every missed opportunity.
It is easy to do because we often don’t actively choose the wrong option. Because we go along with the default, we get everyone’s leftovers. Instead of carving our own path, we take what is offered to us.
So, it becomes simple to say we didn’t have any other choice so it isn’t our fault. For me, it took years to overcome this. Even if someone pointed it out, I would have argued they were wrong.
I had to start making decisions and accepting the consequences. I had to push forward in a direction I chose. When that turned out to be the wrong choice, I couldn’t hide any longer.
It wasn’t easy. It was painful. But through it, I started to realize my previous mistake. I started to realize that the world isn’t there to give you a perfect, comfortable, profitable, successful, happy life.
What it provides is a mix of everything with a lot of other people trying to build up their own wealth. That may mean you get shorted at times. If you go with the default, you accept that shortage. If you become active and take ownership of your choices, you don’t accept the shortage, you work to build what you want.
The benefits of accepting this reality and gaining control by designing your life and making decisions that align with what you want are immense. Life becomes less about people taking advantage of you and more about working with what you have, so you can live the life you desire.
Begin today by owning up when you miss an opportunity or go the wrong way. It will cascade and build into a life where you feel in control. It doesn’t mean everything magically comes to you. It means you see the path for what it is and begin traveling down the road before you in the way you choose.