Just Remember, Friend, You’re In Control

Is something happening that feels out of your control? Does some situation at work or home have you feeling defeated, discouraged, or down? First of all, I’m sorry. So sorry, whatever it is. But I’m here to remind you of something really important.

No matter what it is, you are ultimaty in control of what happens next.

It may feel like your boss, your spouse, your circumstances, or any other outside factors are.   It feels like these things are so beyond your control or not anything that you’d choose.   That is often true… to a degree.  

But the reality is, that degree is much smaller than we think. 

Because what happens now is totally up to you. Circumstances may be calling some shots, but the next play is ALL YOU.   No one gets to tell you what your future will look like but you.

You’ve still got that pen in your hand, friend, waiting to scrawl out the next lines. What will they say?

She quit? He believed he wasn’t good enough? She stayed that way? He got stuck?

Or maybe..

‘She tried again.’ ‘He knocked on a different door.’ ‘He didn’t believe them when they said he wasn’t good enough.’ ‘She found a new path.’

We have a saying in our house that my daughter echoes back the most now: “If you say you can’t, you’re right.”

You won’t be able to do whatever it is if you tell yourself you can’t do. It will be true that you can’t, because you believe and tell yourself it is. But if you start telling yourself that you CAN and that you WILL, you will find a way.

Whether that’s learning how to buckle your seat belt (like my daughter) or learning to tackle that frustrating tech issue (me) or succeeding at a demanding project in a tough work environment (maybe you), you’ll be right.

So start telling yourself you can.

That is the first step. Allow yourself to believe in yourself. Remember that pen that is in your hand, or if you set down, pick it back up along with whatever other tools you need to get the job done. But start with that first one.

The next steps that will follow, along with your openness to what could come next, hing upon YOU believing and deciding that you are in control.  Then you can make the necessary moves to get where you want to be.

 (I know, but what about God? Isn’t He in control you might be asking. I think we who believe have used that phrase to defer action all too often. It has caused us to wait, to cease doing our part, and to forget that we actually should be using the tools that he has already given us. Yes, “God is in control”. But he put you on this earth and he put tools in your hand to do the best possible job, not so you could sit and wait, amass tools in inaction. He didn’t give you purpose to sit on it or get buried underneath life’s junk. He meant for you to do something with your tools and talents. Do the things, use the things! Stand up into your destiny, dear. Stop waiting.)

YOU need to believe and understand that you have a unique set of circumstances and skills and talents and opportunity that you bring to the table.  To the table in front of you, or to any table at all.

You can bring that greatness with you where you choose.  But it’s so important to start where you are. If you stay where you are, great. If you bring your talents somewhere else eventually, also great. Don’t wait to start being great, though. Be great right now. 

Remember you’re still writing the story. Make it a good one.

 You don’t permission to excel. You don’t need to talk to your boss or your spouse to ask to start using your talents better. You need to start now, whatever the circumstances are, with the knowledge and the belief that YOU CAN do amazing things. And then do them. Start loving more effectively, listening better, showing more excitement, engaging more fully, today, as things are. Bring yourself, and talents to the table more fully.  Don’t wait to use your tools, your personality, your talents, your perspective, your excitement. Use them right away, with fervor.

Grab your pen to write the best script now. You call the next shot.  You always do. Whether you have chosen to or not.

So today you HAVE to know…

You are extremely capable and talented. 

You can and will succeed in whatever you decide to do, even if it’s something new or scary.

This does not hinge upon anyone’s opinion of you.  

The feedback you’ve received in your life about situations or roles or performances are just that.  Feedback.  THEY DO NOT DIMINISH YOU. 

The biggest thing that the ol’ devil would want you to do is to feel bad about yourself, to see your failures, to feel disappointed in yourself, to see your shortcomings in blazing technicolor.  AND TO STAY THERE.  

The worst thing that actually can happen with any seen setback or failure is that we stop.  That we stop believing in what we’re capable of.  That we pull in to ourselves, that we allow ourselves to feel bad, to feel less than.  That we shrink back and let the criticism diminish us or worse, finish us. 

Those rocks won’t drown you if you don’t let them. Get out from under them. They are just stepping stones.  

Whatever has happened in your life does not downgrade you or your opportunities.  It opens you up, to more life, to other and new OPPORTUNITIES. It’s freedom, it’s not failure.   

“Fly, fools!”

THERE IS GREATNESS IN YOU, RIGHT NOW, THAT YOU NEED TO BELIEVE IN AND THAT YOU NEED TO OWN.  

Because the reality is, what we ARE capable of a WHOLE HECK OF A LOT MORE than we often give ourselves credit for on a random Tuesday.  

You are extremely talented.  

You have immense value to give. 

Stand up and believe that. 

Choose to see that. 

Choose to LIVE that.  

You call the next shots. 

YOU get to decide what happens next.  

Make it great.  

AND IT WILL BE! 

Because you, my friend, have greatness to share with the world 👊🏻

Stop waiting for it to be recognized. You recognize it. You start believing the greatness, again or for the first time. Call it out of the depths of yourself.

Believe in the beautiful incredible that’s inside of you. Step into it.

Come out from under the rocks that have been piled upon you. Step out from underneath them and stand on top of those things instead. Own them. Use them.

Your next level is waiting. Show up.

Xoxox