Do you really need a bigger, better set of tools?

We are so programmed as people to look outside ourselves for the answers, that we don't even stop to consider that there may be a whole new possibility. If you're like most people I've encountered in my life when you were little you couldn't wait to be older. Why? Because you had certain ideas about freedom and making your own decisions, etc. Think of all the milestones you reached becoming an adult. There was middle school, right? Then there was high school. There was the driver's license. There was graduating from high school. There was turning eighteen. All these markers along the way. Just waiting to be an adult, so you could be your own man or woman. Oh yeah, what about turning twenty-one, huh? That was exciting, wasn't it?

Of course you probably had a job or two somewhere in there, but those were just temporary places you worked until you graduated school to start on your actual career, right? Then the day came when you became an adult, remember? Maybe not like a date in history, but you probably have some vague recollection at least, yes? Perhaps your entry in to adulthood had little fanfare. Now think back to the day you got your first "real" job, remember? Wasn't it awesome? All the dreams you had were going to come true, right? Then something peculiar happened, didn't it? The vast majority of people experience some level of frustration, upset, lack of fulfillment and some just downright hate that job after a while, for whatever reason. Terrible work, horrible boss, bad conditions, etc. So what's usually the solution for people? Well they get a different job, don't they. For a while it's great, then what? Same thing. The cycle repeats over and over again. Perhaps the reason is that all the jobs in the world are bad. Perhaps the answer is a girlfriend or a boyfriend. So you get one of those, and for a while it's great. Then something happens. They're not what you thought they were, somehow they've changed. You leave that one for another. Then this repeats over and over. Perhaps you just need to settle down and get married. Oops you married the wrong one. Divorce number one, then two, then three. Perhaps the answer is a car, a house. Perhaps you need to start your own business, be your own boss.

What's the answer? Well, perhaps we need to start with the basics here. Perhaps the perception that "the problem is out there, therefore I need to change all this stuff outside of me" is the problem. Perhaps we need to start by taking a good look at ourselves. After all in every one of the above mentioned scenarios the one constant is you. You keep showing up in every one of those moments. No mater where you are in life, there you are.

The next time you think the problem is someone else or the situation you find yourself in is the problem, consider the possibility that the way you look at the other or your situation may really be the issue. Then change your perspective and see what happens. This isn't really about being good, and it's certainly not even about doing the right thing. It's really about efficiency and effectiveness. Think about this, if you need to to have everything outside of you to change so you can be happy, fulfilled, etc. you may be waiting for a long, long, long time. You can try to change a bunch of things that you have little to no control over, or you can simply change the one thing you have complete control over, you. Until next time...

Live FREE!