As soon as you take full ownership of the problems in your life, you become a powerful man or woman. Full ownership means you accept responsibility for everything that happens to you, whether it’s your fault or not.
I’m not saying that you accept the blame for something you didn’t do. I’m saying that, to become powerful, you must accept responsibility as if you were the cause.
Victim culture
This is a hard concept to grasp, because we’re raised to think of ourselves as victims.
It’s in the interests of government agencies, and law firms, to encourage this mentality. The victim mentality is even taught in school! Unfortunately, several generations of Americans (as well as citizens of many other countries) have been rendered almost helpless.
The victim culture is, I believe, designed to keep us helpless. Its function is to make us increasingly dependent on government agencies. In such a society, the individual slowly becomes less and less able to act powerfully in his or her own best interests.
In the context of The Online Marketing Blog, victim thinking keeps us unsuccessful. It leaves us unable to act in the face of problems that crop up everyday in a business situation. The victim mentality is incompatible with your success in business on the Internet. Here’s an example of how this kind of thinking makes it impossible for a person to succeed…
It’s not my fault I’m fat
An excellent example of the victim culture can be seen in the actions of a New Yorker who took legal action against four popular fast-food restaurants. He says they mislead him about the nutritional quality of the food they serve.
As a result of what he describes as ‘their negligence,’ he has suffered several heart attacks, has diabetes, and other weight related health problems.
The man in question is grossly overweight, and may die years earlier than would otherwise be the case. In my opinion, it’s entirely his own fault. The decision to eat more food than his body needed was entirely his own. Nobody forced him to eat the majority of his meals at fast food restaurants.
Yet this man is not willing to accept responsibility for his own actions, even though he may soon die as a result of his own choices. This man will not admit that the problem lies with him, and as a result his quality of life has suffered terribly.
His inability to take responsibility for the predicament he finds himself in is the reason why this man is not able to make the life changes he needs to make to survive. He needs to wake up, and fast! This man is facing the ultimate fact of life—that it ends. Even in the face of death, this man is unwilling to accept the blame for his own actions.
This man is not unique in America today. Even corporations have gotten in on the act (and it is an act). Consider the despicable actions of the companies that whined and complained about Microsoft, running off to tell tales to the Department of Justice. They’re like a bunch of little kids, throwing a tantrum just as soon as reality doesn’t immediately deliver whatever it is they want this minute.
No responsibility = no power
Personal power is the natural result of a willingness to take responsibility for one’s own life. Without a willingness to fully own one’s circumstances, and to be responsible for them, a person cannot be powerful in their own life.
The man I mentioned above has blamed four corporations for his obesity and lack of health. He admits no culpability of his own. As a result, he is powerless to do anything about his obesity.
He is powerless, because he must rely on disinterested 3rd parties to do the work for him. But it’s not possible to force a person to lose weight and eat a balanced diet.
The man is a fool. His sniveling approach to life, and the blame he readily assigns to others for his poor state of health, are beneath contempt. He is like a spoiled child, quick to blame everyone but himself for the inevitable result of the eating choices he made. Unfortunately, this spoiled child has an equally disgusting lawyer who was all too ready to suck undeserved funds out of 4 successful corporations.
With great responsibility comes…
Imagine how different this man’s life would be if he woke up to himself, admitted that it was his own choice to eat too much fast-food, and so decided to stop doing so. He would lose weight, and the health problems that go with it. In around 10 months, this man would have completely revolutionized his life.
His lack of power in this problem comes directly from his own unwillingness to recognize that he is the source of his problem. Until he does so, a solution to his problem will elude him. In fact, his current approach requires that he remain overweight and unhealthy. The basis of his legal action requires that he continue to endanger his life.
Isn’t that crazy?
There’s an old cliche that states ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’ This saying works in reverse too. With great responsibility comes great power.
The more ownership you take over the events in your life, the more power you’ll wield over the circumstances in which you find yourself. There’s little point trying to ascribe blame, even if you’re justified in doing so. Blaming some 3rd party won’t solve the problem. The solution lies in the actions you take. It lies in your ownership of the problem.
NOTE: I’m not saying that you shouldn’t initiate legal action if it’s required to resolve a matter that can’t be resolved some other way. For example, a neighbor who damages your property, but won’t pay for the repairs, has forced your hand. You’re going to have to initiate legal action to get your money back.
