If it’s to be, it’s up to me.

Life is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, bittersweet experiences and suffering. Whatever would go wrong would eventually go wrong (Murphy’s law); the key to living a meaningful life is to learn to suffer mindfully. As German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “To live is to suffer; to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.” “If it’s to be, it’s up to me” means taking responsibility for your life, accepting the things you can control and living your life on your terms. If you want to get anything done in life, it is up to you to find the resources, associations, connections and beliefs to get it done. No one is coming to the rescue; you are all you need, your potential is enough, and you are worthy and capable of achieving anything you set your mind to attain.

“The opportunity of a lifetime is to pick yourself. Quit waiting to get picked; quit waiting for someone to give you permission; quit waiting for someone to say you are officially qualified… and pick yourself” – Seth Godin

It can be tough taking 100% responsibility for whatever happens to you in life as some situations in life can be so unfair, such as losing a loved one, losing a job, getting a divorce or having a health situation. The vicissitudes of life can make you question your abilities and personal power as you would be tested through trials and tribulations; lifelong friends are going to desert you, and the silence of your support system is going to be defeaning but you have to keep strong and keeping it moving. Always remember that: What you are going through right now is not who you are, this too shall pass. You are stronger than you think, if it is going to be, it is up to you.

Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame. – Erica Jong

In Intentional Living: Choosing a Life That Matters¹, leadership author John C. Maxwell describes the process of living an international life. By living intentionally we take personal responsibility for whatever happens to us in life, we stay curious and see every situation as a learning opportunity. Maxwell asserted:

When we tell ourselves, “I’ll do it,” we unleash tremendous power. That act forges in us a chain of personal responsibility that ups our game: a desire to excel plus a sense of duty plus complete aliveness plus total dedication to getting done what has to be done. That equals commitment.

An attitude of doing also helps us to become who we were meant to be. It is this doing attitude that often leads to the things we were meant to do. While trying is filled with good intentions, doing is the result of intentional living. What is the number one catalyst for change? It’s action. Understanding may be able to change minds, but action changes lives. If you take action, it will change your life. And that change will begin changing others.

“In life, it is not what we get that makes us valuable. It is what we become in the process that brings value to our lives. Action is what converts human dreams into significance. It brings personal value that we can gain from no other source.”

When you take responsibility for your story and intentionally live a life of significance, how will you change?

You will reaffirm your values. Acting on what you value will clarify those values and make them a permanent priority in your life.
You will find your voice. Taking action will give you confidence to speak and live out what you believe in front of others. You will begin to develop a moral authority with people.
You will develop your character. Passive people allow their character to be influenced by others. Active people struggle to form and maintain their character. They grow and develop because of that struggle.
You will experience inner fulfillment. Contentment is found in being where you are supposed to be. It’s found when your actions are aligned with who you are.

In The Motivation Manifesto: 9 Declarations to Claim Your Personal Power ², high-performance coach and trainer Brendon Burchard describes nine declarations that are needed in the pursuit of greater personal freedom. Declaration number four is “Advance with Abandon,” Burchard writes:

Most of us are not maturing as fast as we are able. We are on constant pause; we wait and we wait, to find out who we are, to declare our dreams, to struggle for what we want, to open ourselves fully to love and to life. We await personal courage to arise within us, or for society to grant us some ill-defined permission to activate our potential. We have forgotten that courage is a choice, and that permission to move forward with boldness is never given by the fearful masses. Most have forgotten that seeking change always requires a touch of insanity.

If taking action before the perfect conditions arise, or before we receive permission, is unreasonable or reckless, then we must be unreasonable and reckless. We must remember we are not the sum of our intentions but of our actions. Bold and disciplined initiative is our savior; it allows us to rise, to leap, to soar to the heights of true greatness. We must not lose the urgency of this moment as it begs for us to begin something grand and important.

We must remember we are not the sum of our intentions but of our actions. Bold and disciplined initiative is our savior; it allows us to rise, to leap, to soar to the heights of true greatness.

Meditation

Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt – Lighthouse

Life is full of unknowns and uncertainty, and no matter how hard we try to control things, there is no way of knowing what is around the corner. When we face an uncertain future, we can get swept away by anxiety and fear and in the process, we can fall into tunnel vision. It is that fixation on a particular concern or challenge where our focus becomes so narrow we can’t see beyond it.
Lighthouses often find themselves in peculiar places at the edge of a cliff surrounded by hurling winds and shifting seas, and yet no matter the conditions, whether stormy days or stormy nights, a lighthouse stands tall through it all, steady and unwavering. Shining its light in all directions.
When we are facing intense times, we want to shift into the same kind of full scene and stability. Having 360-degree awareness helps us see a bigger picture to offer us perspective. By remembering to breathe when fear overwhelms us, we create a kind of spaciousness in our thoughts; our focus expands, creating clarity and stability. As we learn to relax with the unknown, we become better able to step back and see the big picture.

Podcast