Owning Your Journey, Walk the Walk

SHOW NOTES: (from the podcast Encouragementology)

On this show...we’re owning it; the good, bad, and yes the ugly! After all, it’s your journey. Sure some played a role, maybe even a vital role, but in the end, the choices you made and the direction you took were all you. Even if you chose to follow instead of lead, your choice. You might think this show is going to be full of tired old journey cliches like; it’s “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” or “Sometimes it's the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination.” and even still; “Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time.” and a million more. As nauseating as they can be at times, they are right. You’re on it my friend, whether you embrace the challenges, celebrate the successes, or just go along for the ride. You set out on your journey the day you were born and well….we all know how it ends but what you do in the meantime can give you a lifetime of love, learning, and joy. 

I think responsibility is an important attribute to have in life. Personally and professionally. It’s wonderful to have responsibility for things, people, and concepts but also to demonstrate responsibility in your actions and throughs. Owning your responsibility for choices and actions means confessing the reality of the situation to yourself and even to others. I see claiming it as the actional profession and owning it is making space for the learning in your character makeup. “I did it, it’s mine, and here is how it’s impacted my life and changed my behavior”. 

Accepting responsibility doesn’t include, “yeah but…” Yeah but can be that little degree of justification that can temporarily relieve you of the guilt, shame, but also the most important part, the learning.  “Well I did it, yeah but he also did it too or she told me it was ok or they wronged me and I had no choice.” 

All of that may have influenced your choice but that’s not the exercise here. Owning your responsibility is. 

Steve Rose, PhD, is an addiction counselor who gives us his insight on Why Responsibility is so Important in our life.  On his website, stevenrosephd.com

I’ve been challenged with these questions in my own practice - what if the trauma you suffered was out of your control - how are you supposed to take responsibility? 

Steven says, if you’ve experienced trauma leading to mental health issues, you are not responsible for the problem, but you are responsible for being part of the solution.

The same goes for a heredity illness. You are not responsible for the problem, but you are responsible for being part of the solution. Falling into a victim mindset only serves to strengthen the problem.

So why is responsibility important?

Responsibility is important because it provides a sense of purpose, in addition to building resilience amidst adversity on an individual and societal level.

Like an addiction, sidestepping responsibility may feel good in the short-term, but leads to exponentially worse pain and suffering in the long term.

See, your journey involves more than just choosing a path, forging forward tripping over flora and fauna, nursing your wounds, and praying for the end to come. You have a responsibility to yourself, to your family, and to all beings. When your parents nurtured you and encouraged you to walk celebrating your curiosity for life their wish was for you to be a kind and responsible human being. Between the lines was the thought that would contribute in some great way not that you would simply avoid conflict and make it unscathed. 

So no matter where you currently are on your journey, no matter how prepared or ill-prepared you’ve been, no matter how lost and off-track your course may seem, you can turn it around. You can own your journey starting today. 

Jill Huettich gives us The Road Map to You: Find the Best Version of Yourself in an article she wrote for wealthfit.  I love her ideas on the importance of finding yourself and using that as a guild on your journey.

Look Back to Move Forward

Reflect

View Your Past with Compassion

Act "As If"

Discover Your Life Purpose

Uncover Your Motivation

Visualize Your Future

Determine Your “Golden Rules”

Your Reputation Is a Great Place to Start

Get Started Today

What a great vantage point and fabulous insight. All these tools, even the ones you can’t seem to fit into your tool belt today are valuable. Let them take root in your subconscious so that when you need them, they’re easy to recall. So once you’ve taken responsibility, really owned your role in where you are today, viewed your path from a different vantage point, uncovered the true you - it’s time to forge forward. I mean really, part of the preparation is in the doing. Yep, there is another meme-worthy cliche. 

4-lessons on how to find the right direction in life, Bob Miglani an article on tinybuddha.com

Bob Miglani made a life change when stuck at a crossroads. He shares what lead him to this place in his life and the lessons he learned as a result. 

1. Stop overthinking.
2. Try anything. Do something.
3. Follow your inner voice.
4. Believe in yourself.

By taking small steps each and every day, putting aside over-thinking, and realizing that you have everything you need deep within, you can find the right direction in your life. And while it may not be the direction you expected, it will work out just fine.

CHALLENGE: re-route and re-engage on your journey to self-discovery. Own the bumps, pitfalls, and detours by taking responsibility for the choices you’ve made and responsibly using that learning to forge on. Clear a path to finding you and let that be your guide.

 

I Know YOU Can Do It!