How Great Is Your Will?

“Do or do not... there is no try.” - Yoda

The road to successful living comes with many choices and the willingness to participate in your life. Being a bystander in your life, does not allow you to share your light and energy with others. Those who choose to be a victim in their lives get left behind, while others who actively participate enjoy the journey to success and happiness because they are in control of where they want to go. According to Brainy Quote, willingness is "the quality or state of being willing; free choice or consent of the will; freedom from reluctance; readiness of the mind to do or forbear." Other will related definitions are: do, being, choice, will, and freedom. Do you use these words when you speak? Do you have a choice and the will for freedom?

Here are 10 questions to ask yourself on your journey to success:

1. 
   
   Am I willing to give first and expect nothing in return?
2. 
   
   Am I willing to ask for what I want?
3. 
   
   Am I willing to set goals and plan ways to get what I want?
4. 
   
   Am I willing to give up complaining, making excuses, and blaming others for not getting what I want and take 100% responsibility for my actions?
5. 
   
   Am I willing to say "no" to an opportunity based on my priorities knowing that bigger and better opportunities may come my way?
6. 
   
   Am I willing to step out of my comfort zone to experience all life has to offer me?
7. 
   
   Am I willing to fail in order to learn and move forward?
8. 
   
   Am I willing to persevere when the going gets tough?
9. 
   
   Am I willing to embrace change?
10. 
    
    Am I willing to take action?

When you are willing to go after what you want with conviction, you will inevitably get where you want to go and achieve what you want to achieve. You must be willing to do what it takes. How badly do you want what you say you want? What are some other questions you ask yourself about your "willingness" to participate in this exciting world called life?

"Courage is simply the willingness to be afraid and act anyway. "

Robert Anthony

Whose Responsibility is it Anyway?

People who play the victim game often point fingers at others as the responsible party for their current situation. I do not know how many times I have heard people say these phrases: "I never get a chance to...", "I am unhappy because they...", "I cannot have what I want", or even "I do not have a life." PLEASE - You do have a life and chances to make a difference in your own life and the lives of others. Remember this echoing phrase, "Life is what you make it." We all have the same amount of time in a day. All too often the people who say these comments blame others for not getting what they want. Sad thing is...nobody ever knew what they wanted. You are responsible for your chances, happiness, and the excitement in your life. YOU - you cannot blame others for what is in your control. The choice lies within you.


Your happiness depends on you. That's right. If you are searching outside of yourself for your happiness and saying to yourself, "I will be happy when.... I have the big house or an expensive car.", you are cheating yourself out of all you have and all you have accomplished to date. If you do not appreciate the present, when you have the things you yearned for, you will not appreciate them either as you will be yearning for something else.

Get Clear on What You Want. You can have what you want, however, many people do not get what they want because they are not always clear on what exactly it is they want or expect from themselves or others. I have seen spouses get upset about the other person fulfilling their needs or holding them back from going after what they want. The only problem is no one clearly expressed what it was they wanted; they made assumptions.

Set Your Priorities. You are the one who knows what is important to you. You need to choose and balance what you want to achieve. Let's say you are frustrated because you cannot go to the gym for one and a half hours so you do not bother going. Who is suffering? Who is responsible for your health? You are! Going to the gym or for a walk for 30 minutes is still better that you coming home to sit on the couch. Do something toward reaching your goal instead of nothing.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. You need to let people know what it is you want to achieve. This works both personally and professionally. People want to help others achieve. It makes them feel good to know that they were a contributing factor to your success. If people do not know what you want, how can they help you?

Remember You Have Choices. If you need a babysitter so you can get to the gym, connect with a responsible teenager in your area. Check and see if your gym has babysitting available. Maybe you can even swap babysitting with another mother in your area so you both can benefit. There are options to help you achieve what you want. Many businesses are formed because of the need for options and lifestyle.

Ask for Help. If your options are not working out, do not give up. Ask others for help or referrals to people they know, like, and trust. Tap into the new opportunities and options available.

Compromise and Create Win-Win. There are times when you may have to compromise to get what you want by helping others get what they want. That's a great deal. Remember you can delegate to others to help you achieve what you want. You do not have to do it all.

Go and Get It. You have to develop a take action mindset.The responsibility for achieving what you want lies in you. Think about how badly you want something. Are you willing to go the distance and do what it takes to get there? If so, go and get it!

Might be a bit of tough love but...stop blaming, complaining, or making excuses about why you have not achieved what you want. The person responsible for your life is the person looking back at you in the mirror every morning and every night. That person is - YOU!

How do you take responsibilty for achieving what you want?

Deaf Ears Fall on a Complainer

I remember asking my Dad how things were going one day and he said, "No sense in complaining. No one is going to listen to those who complain when they have the power to change what is not right."

How many of us like to listen to someone complaining? Do you find that they are taking responsibility for their own actions? Are they a solution to their issue or are they the ones causing their own grief?

One of my favorite reads is "The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work" by Jon Gordon. Great story about the power of positive thinking and action. Complaints can become opportunities to explore and improve. Customer service complaints, for example, often speak to the quality of service and experience of the customer. Situations and events cannot improve without feedback. When you eliminate excuses and complaining, your surroundings are more enjoyable and productivity increases.


Listen to the words you say about yourself and others. Avoid getting involved with the complainers; they can pull you into that negative downward spiral of energy. If you change your words to more affirming words, you will create a positive environment around you. Focus on the good things going on in your life. You are healthy and alive. Are the things you complain about in your control? If not, let them go. You sabotage yourself by dwelling on the things you cannot change. My Dad was right!