Above or Below which are you?
Are you an above the line thinker or a below the line thinker? Do you have ownership, accountability and responsibility for all things in your life or do you blame, deny and make excuses? These are tough questions to ask yourself because you need to really know who you are to answer them with honesty and if you are like most people you will be a mixture of both.
You see we have a choice in how we live in the world. We can be at the effect of what happens to us in our life OR we can be at cause.
People who just let life happen to them are at effect they are the people around you who tell you all the excuses or reasons why they can’t do something or why they are not successful. They blame others, make excuses or deny when something is holding them back, and that is fine each to their own.
I wonder if that type of thinking is really going to make anyone happy.
Imagine, sense, think about sitting in your rocking chair at the end of your life how satisfying is that going to be if what you have to look back on is a life that never included the experiences, connections and relationships that you dreamed.
What would be different if you were at cause in your life? What would happen if you had ownership, accountability and responsibility for every event? Do you think that this would give you the maximum opportunity, the maximum potential to create the outcomes that you are looking for?
By taking ownership and being at cause all you have left at the end of your life is results, a treasury of great memories and experiences and the knowledge that you gave this life your very best shot.
Now some of you will be reading this and saying “hogwash”, how can I be at cause for everything. I am not responsible for things beyond me, floods and fires and the ‘stuff’ that sometimes turns up out of the blue, and that may be true. What you can be responsible for is how you deal with, think about and respond to what is happening around you.
It is the old stories and familiar patterns of behaviour that are keeping you in the same old same old life the one you are frustrated with and would like to change. It is what we do without thinking, a little like going the same way to work every day, you can do it half asleep, and most of us do.
What would happen if you changed just that one thing? What would happen if you caught and earlier bus or train, walked a different way, parked in a different location, car pooled, just did one thing that was different.
Changing one thing could open up all sorts of possibilities. You might meet someone new, find a great place to shop or have lunch or dinner, run into an old friend, or even see or hear something that might inspire you. Maybe you can’t change how or when you go to work, but, what if you could read a different type of book or listen to a cd or mp3 of someone who truly inspired you, or what if you spent that time writing a journal or talking to someone new instead of the same old same old.
People who go through life being at cause, whose thinking is above the line have results, they have maximum power to create the life that they want to experience, to live their dream.
How do you begin to change your thinking and begin living above the line, being at cause for your life? You could start with an honest appraisal of your thoughts and language, and you can begin to ask yourself some powerful questions to shift your old patterns of behaviour.
1. How can I think and act differently to get the results and outcomes that I want?
2. What can I do differently next time to create a different outcome?
3. Who do I know or know of that has done something similar that I could model?
4. If I was being at cause in this situation what would I do differently?
Which side of the line are you choosing to be on and what kind of results are you getting by being on that side? Where do you really need to be to create change and begin to live your dream life?
If you are ready to create your dream life, shift old patterns and create a future that fills you with excitement then contact us on: LifEthereal@iinet.net.au.
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Women deserve to experience more success, fun, laughter, adventure and happiness in their lives. We partner with women every day to create amazing professional, personal, and family change, to eliminate negative stress, overwhelm and break through glass ceilings. Live life with intent, success and adventure www.lifethereal.com.au