Personal Responsibility
Viktor Frankl said, "The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." Regardless of all that has happened in the past, every person, at every moment, has the opportunity and power to choose what they will do and believe in the present moment. This power is an inherent and undeniable element of being human. It is within us, and cannot be expelled.
Too often, however, people are lead to believe that the choices they make are beyond their control or sphere of influence, and that they are being compelled to behave in certain pre-determined ways. Most often, this denial of choice is used to avoid blame for negative circumstances or events, such as when people claim that the conditions of their lives are not their fault.
The consequences of this evasion of responsibility are substantial. When we deny our own power to choose our beliefs and behavior, we are then forced to look outside ourselves for the source of our own happiness. When we look outside for things to change, we open ourselves to risk, and create the conditions for victimhood and entitlement.
Consider the fundamental question: Does your power originate from inside, or outside of yourself?
In order to create and protect wealth, it is critical to realize that power originates from within an individual. Otherwise, the achievement of wealth is due to nothing more than luck, and we should dedicate ourselves to the Lotto instead of working hard. Money is not power, but is rather the byproduct of internal power applied effectively. When we understand that power comes only from within, we can disregard unimportant external distractions against which we formerly struggled for power. We can focus inward, and begin to nurture and grow our true source of power.
The place we must look for this power is in our own minds. More specifically, the thoughts in our minds determine our power. At any given moment, a person's mind is creating a wide range of thoughts from which that person can choose. The thoughts that are selected for further investigation are given power, and cultivated. The thoughts we focus on grow within us, and eventually make their way into reality through our actions, which support our thoughts. Our thoughts are investments in the future we wish for ourselves. As such, if we want to live peaceful lives, we must cultivate peaceful thoughts, and choose not to dwell on anger or resentment that appears in our minds. Likewise, if we want to live wealthy, abundant lives, we must cultivate abundant thoughts, and rid our minds of thoughts of scarcity.
The next step in living an abundant life is to accept full responsibility for the current and future conditions of our wealth. As long as we continue to wait for someone else to act on behalf of our wealth, we will never achieve it. We must commit to responsibility in financial matters to achieve abundance.