When things aren’t going so well, it’s easy to think the problem is “out there.” I know because I’ve been there. In fact, in 2008 I was in a dark place for almost a year and I was looking for the problem and for solutions everywhere but inside me.
If something isn’t going right for us, the problem is never “out there” and the problem is never another person. That’s a hard pill to swallow. I’m not saying that other people or a challenging circumstance in life is never part of what’s going on.
However, if I have a pattern that keeps showing up, that’s on me. If I keep blaming my manager or keep saying “It’s all about politics in my company” yet stay with my company, that’s a problem on the inside, not the outside.
Long ago, James Allen wrote: “Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.”
And Stephen Covey, Ph.D. said, “Anytime we think the problem is “out there,” that thought is the problem.” Yet, the truth is, the times we need to hear what Covey said is often the times we most resist it.
It takes a strong foundation of self-confidence, self-acceptance and self-worth to look inside.
Categorized in: Articles, Career Success, Life, Mastering Emotions, Mastering Stress & Overwhelm, Prosperity, Relationship Mastery, Self-Esteem/Self-Worth, Self-Improvement
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