Take The Responsibility

Take The Responsibility
by Vic Johnson
"A person is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions." - As A Man Thinketh
One of the great weaknesses of our society today is the growing attitude of victimization. Many people claim themselves to be victims of some outside force. "I had to file bankruptcy because of my ex-wife…", "If my company hadn't laid me off…", "If that driver hadn't pulled out in front of me…"
When we are victims of circumstances, or as James Allen says, a "creature of outside conditions", we have no power. We have given over the power in our life to the circumstances. The longer we give power to our circumstances the worse or circumstances become.
In his book, "Above Life's Turmoil", Allen writes, "You imagine your circumstances as being separate from yourself, but they are intimately related to your thought world. Nothing appears without an adequate cause."
To get control of our circumstances we must first acknowledge personal responsibility for being where we are. That was the hardest part for me because the "victim" in all of us doesn't want to take that responsibility.
When we take the responsibility we must then take control of our thoughts. And, yes, in the beginning that can be hard. It seems sometimes that it's our nature to first think negatively. But that's just because it's the habit we´ve developed. And like any habit, it can be changed by replacing it with the habit of thinking the right way.
One of my favorite teachers, Emmet Fox, writes: "You are not happy because you are well. You are well because you are happy. You are not depressed because trouble has come to you, but trouble has come because you were depressed. You can change your thoughts and feelings, and then the outer things will change to correspond, and indeed there is no other way of working."
And that´s worth thinking about.Vic Johnson