Own it!

I learned within the last few months how important it is to own your stuff. In fact, important is not the right word. It is downright empowering! 
 
For years, I have blamed my failures and bad judgment on people, places, circumstances, and anything else I could think of that did not include myself. My finger naturally pointed outward. And as long as I could place blame, I did not have to confront my problems and resolve them myself. After all, it would be unfair to solve a problem or sacrifice for something that had little or nothing to do with me. 
 
And then it happened....
 
I was listening to a radio personality who often yells at his listeners about playing the victim. "You are not the victim!", he says. At first I simply changed the channel. He obviously knew nothing about my story and therefore his words were irrelevant. But I eventually came back and continued to listen. And as I listened I realized that I WAS responsible for many of the bad decisions I had made. Although I could always find some sort of way to justify my actions, they were still MY actions and I had to own them. And the minute I came to this realization I felt liberated. Because the person I had been waiting for to fix my problems had arrived. I was the only person who could change my circumstance. And so that is what I have been doing since. 
 
Regardless of where your problems began, at some point we must take ownership of our roles, our lives, and our futures. We must choose to accept the past and rework our present so that our future is ours.
 
Owning your mistakes, however minor they may be in the grand scheme of things, is the first step to living the life of your dreams.