Personal Power

We are in control.  I realize that many people don’t believe this.  When I say we are in control, I’m talking about control of our lives and our actions.  Certainly, there are many things that we are not in control over in this world.  We don’t control the weather, we don’t control the time, and we don’t control any other person.  There are people who want to control others, but that usually ends badly.      

We control our minds, our bodies, and our actions, if we choose to.  If we choose not to take charge then someone else will attempt to control those things that only we should be commanding.  It seems that everyone has a personal agenda and many want to have you join their agenda.  If you join their agenda then you will not be on your own agenda.      

What?  You don’t have an agenda?  This agenda can be described as a plan, goals, dreams, or just the known direction you’re moving toward. I was told once that if I don’t have goals, then I’ll be a part of someone else’s goals.  Don’t get me wrong, many times in life our goals and the goals of others can cross.  We can collaborate, partner, employ, work for, or join in with someone else’s agenda and together enhance each other’s ability to achieve that goal.        

We can even form a team of people who have the same agenda, or at least a part of our agenda.  The important thing to remember is that you are on your own agenda.  We may have a similar work or career agenda with someone else and can partner on a project.  The rest of our life agenda may not coincide with this person.  We may have several groups of people we deal with in each aspect of our life agenda.      

Taking charge or total control is called total responsibility.  The current trend in America is to blame someone else for everything that happens to us.  That’s just not true.  Many plaintiffs attorneys would have you believe that someone else is responsible for what happens or happened to you and that they should pay for it.      

Personal responsibility is much different than fault.  If someone runs a red light and hits your car, it’s their fault.  What happens from there and even having been there at that time is our personal responsibility.  We take responsibility for the car we drive, insurance we carry, and our reaction to the accident.  We are responsible for how we feel and recover from the event.      

Viktor Frankl was a Nazi prisoner at Aushwitz.  He survived and later wrote the book, “Man’s Search for Meaning”.  Through counseling and talking with other prisoners and some guards, he discovered that our existence and survival was not based on pleasure or power, but rather on our ability to find meaning in our life.  His meaning of life was to survive the camp and tell the world about the inhumanity in an attempt to make sure it never happened again.      

What Frankl really found was that even though the Nazi prison guards had total phyical control over him, they could not control his mind and thoughts.  They certainly attempted to brainwash him, but that control was always his.  This is our Personal Power.  Our ability to be in control of our thinking at all times.  No matter what the circumstances or events of our life, we are in control of how we think about them.      

In my years of medical practice, I saw people undergo near identical situations, with completely different effects on their lives.  Two people were involved in different motor vehicle accidents with a drunk driver and one spent 5 years of his life attempting to get restitution from a legal action, while the other moved forward and volunteered at an alcohol rehab center and gave talks in local schools from the perspective of someone injured by a drunk driver.  He was not bitter, but his thinking took him in a worthy direction that not only helped him recover, but assisted others to make better decisions.  Why the two different responses.  One blamed someone else and the other sought a different meaning in the event and improved his life.      

How we view an event is critical to our long term health and mental stability.  When it comes to weight loss, taking total responsibility  and accessing our personal power will move us in the right direction steadily.  Even though our ability to gain weight is based on our genetics, and our current environment makes it hard to lose excess pounds, we must take full responsibility to beat this disorder.      

Our ability to accept proper treatment of obesity and to persist in that treatment is not based on any external driver.  No other person is responsible.  No vacation, kids activity, social obligation, work status, living condition, travel, or other distraction is the cause of our weight gain or inability to lose weight.      

When we take total mental control of our weight loss project and act with our personal power to be consistent in our plan, the weight will come off and we can keep it off indefinitely.  It’s debated how much of our brain we actually utilize, but suffice it to say we have plenty of brain power to accomplish amazing things.  Losing weight is one of those things.      

With this being said, what do we do from here?  First, tell yourself that “I am responsible”.  Anytime you stray off your program tell yourself, “I am responsible”.  Over time you will realize that not only are you responsible for this, but you are in control of this.  When you begin to feel in total control of your habits and your body, you will start to take control of every other aspect of your life.      

You will take total control of your job, finances, relationships, health, and of your entire life.  This is Personal Power.  Mistakes will always happen.  External events will always happen.  How we take mental control of these events and outside invaders will determine our success.        

Have you given up your personal power?  Have you blamed others for your current level of health and fitness?  Have you felt that you have lost control?  Today is the day to start anew.  Take responsibility for your life, your goals, your growth and improvement and take back your Personal Power to achieve what you want out of life.  Find your own meaning in what you do and use that powerful force to guide you on your journey.