“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” – Nido Qubein
Sometimes when you listen to people talk, you get the idea that they really don’t want the things they say they want in their lives. They mention all these things they’d like to do, or be, or have – then they follow it up with all the reasons why it’s not possible. Then they live an unhappy life and generally try to pass on that unhappiness to everyone around them.
And most of the reasons they say what they want isn’t possible revolve around things they can’t control. They live in the wrong place, or were born in the wrong era, or they weren’t born with enough money, or the government these days makes their lives so hard, and on and on. They focus on those kinds of things because since those things aren’t controllable, they have an excuse to just sit there. “Why should I work that hard when I have no chance?” is the basic idea.
Except that you have a chance. Where you live or the era into which you were born or any of those things are factors that impact your journey, but they don’t permanently block your journey. The only way those things stop you from achieving what you want is if you focus on them and ignore all the things you can control.
So stop focusing on those things and focus on what you’re going to do to get WHERE you want to be. What specifically could you do over the next 90 days that would get you closer to your goal? What specifically needs to happen over the next 6-12 months that would get you closer to your goal? Every truly successful person had to make themselves successful; they weren’t just born into the perfect situation. They actually had to do something.
Sit down today and think about what you really want out of your life, or your career, or whatever moves you. What do you need to do to make that happen? Stop wasting your life complaining about all the hardships you face (guess what: everybody else faces similar things). Start focusing on the actions you’re going to take to make your life what you want. And do it now.
