Who is The Captain of Your Ship?
Start changing your life and mindset in small ways and go on to change the world.
We have to know ourselves before we can change the world.
In his poem, “Invictus,” William Ernest Henley wrote “I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul.” We can control our lives because we have the power to respond to our situations. If we break down the word “responsibility”, it is your ability to respond.
If we react negatively to a situation we are not being responsible, we have to respond in a positive manner in a situation to be considered acting responsible. Even in the worst times you can be successful by creating the right situation or response. When we set out to accomplish a goal, we have to remember that we will be testing our limits and dealing with negativity in the form of feedback or opinion, but always remember who is the captain.
Our small victories lead to bigger successes. I believe this. We know the only concept in life is that circumstances change. My life has been full of change and adaptation. My father died when I was 12. I was involved in a near fatal accident given last rites and was pronounced dead for a few minutes. I have been laid off twice due to budget cuts. As you can see these situation have been difficult ones to deal with.
Life’s events teach us about who we are and what we can become. We all have a vision for ourselves and we have to know how to make the vision work for us. We usually make those decisions off of a “gut feeling,” you know that moment when we know something feels right or wrong. You have to know why and how you are going to respond because the only person who can is yourself. You need to understand your strengths and weaknesses by being self aware.
Self awareness is defined as “the conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives and desires.” Our character is who we are, our feelings are our thoughts, our motives are why we do what we do and our desires are what we want. If we are not self aware we will not know who we are, how we feel or what we want. Self-awareness may be the most important factor in why each of us are different. We all have different goals, desires, needs and so on. How are we going to get somewhere if we do not know where we want to be? We need to fully be aware of what we want, how we are going to get there, what matters to us, what we love to do and what goals we have. This is called OUR LIFE JOURNEY.
Stop and think for a moment, are you being self aware of your wants, desires and needs? Are you living in a conscious mix of the what your present is and what you want your future to be?
My situation is interesting, I am applying to places to where I want to continue my career. I have my side hustle which is teaching people the positive roles that social media and technology and how it can effect your life and business. I am writing my life story, because I have been through many life changing events, I want to share my story to help and inspire those going through hard times.
One of my personal goals is to be healthy and in great physical shape. I accomplished one goal of losing 20 pounds and am continuing to lose more while gaining muscle. The concept of a healthy mind and body goes a long way. It is not easy work but the benefits will last the rest of your life.
My first decision is to be happy. I hear people say, when I get here or when this happens, I’ll be happy. Happiness is not a destination or something that just happens, happiness is a choice. I choose to be happy reaching my goals and creating a life for myself. If I am not happy then I need to make a change or simply just move on. The power of positive thinking is extremely important and overlooked. Life does suck sometimes, but our responsibility is to figure out what it is teaching us and know that situation tends to be temporary and to keep moving “Onward!”
We can either be happy with our lives or make a decision to change, commit to it and follow through. If we do not adapt and move in life, we stay still. In other words, we get trapped in the comfort zone and lose the ability to grow and learn. New actions, thoughts and ideas do not come out of the comfort zone.
Getting What You Want — We Only Live Once
If you want “x” first ask “why” and then you will be able to figure out the “how.” It probably will not be a straight x + y = result. Your equation may be an extreme calculus problem, but if you have focus, confidence and determination, you will get there or you will know when you have to make adjustments. You will be involved in situations that you do not like to achieve your goal but change your perception of the situation in a positive manner to give you a different viewpoint.
I am working on my “x,” I am learning my “how” and what needs to be done. I know what I want in life and am committed to achieving it. I am concentrating on what I want and sometimes you have to weather the storm. I know what is valuable to me in my life, do you? Just remember, if something or someone holds no value in your life, let go and move forward.
In closing, our wonderful technological age has given us the ability to promote ourselves. We are our own brand, our own business. We promote what is important to us, how we feel, what we are looking for and more. Our responsibility to use technology and social media reminds me of the famous line from Spiderman “with great power, come great responsibility.” We can apply our knowledge to network with others, grow our brand, business, charity and more. You now have the power to create, build and promote! That’s incredible! While you are in pursuit of what you want, work hard at getting it, get involved, be part of something bigger, continue to educate yourself and finally remember to breathe and live. It all depends on what your latitude and attitude are!
Tom — owner of TRD Advantage (Social Media, Tech Consultant, Life Coaching)
Connect with me!
TomDaly621@gmail.com
