So… you think YOU had a bad day, huh? 

Last week I…

...had my new car stolen
...found an error requiring me to pay $2500
...got news that my Grandfather had been involved in a horrible accident
...had to file suit in court due to another's wrongful actions

Think I’m making this up!?  Nope.  It all (er… and even more bad news) happened.

I’m not writing this to make you feel good about your life, poo-poo your challenges, represent myself as some sort of hero or even garner sympathy for my plight…  Nor is there going to be any “well… life goes on, there’s a silver lining in those clouds” kind of moral here, either.

What will happen in any of these circumstances?  Dunno.  But the larger insight has been not to give in to the siren’s song of “the victim story.”

Time and time again on LifeSuccessEngine.com I see people locked in to their victim story.  No matter what they do, something bad happens to them.  Others are doing bad things to them.  They’re trying, it’s just that… (fill in the blank with some thing, someone, some something that AGAIN victimized them).

But… I’m not a victim.  Nope, not even of the auto theft.

It’s said that one of the toughest realizations every person comes to in becoming an adult is the realization that no one else is going to take care of you.  If it’s to be… well, it’s up to me.  And, if you get locked into the victim story, well… you get lots of sympathy.  But you sure don’t get much power OR change.

You had a hard life?  Well, what are you going to do about it!?

Don’t take pride in your victimization.  Stop holding out your complaints and the wrongs others (life?) have done to you.  NO ONE IS COMING TO YOUR RESCUE.

The life I’m living is mine.  It’s the way it is, from a myriad of actions and decisions that’s brought me to this moment.  Responsible for other’s actions!?  Nope.  But, no matter WHAT anyone has done “to” me…  I am responsible – FULLY responsible – for my life.  I’m responsible for where my life is, for what protections I’ve put in place, for what insurance I’ve put in place, for what resources I’ve build up, for what friendships I’ve built to call upon, for what money I’ve saved….

… Or not.

Sympathy begets sympathy.  And, if you’re to keep receiving your daily allotment of it… you’ll need to keep the “poor me” stories coming.

Don’t get me wrong: it’s not that bad things are not happening to you.  They are.  After all, my car WAS stolen.  My Grandfather did suffer a catastrophic accident.  Another has wronged me to the point that it was necessary to file suit.

But the question is WHERE IS YOUR POWER?  And, it certainly is NOT in what’s been done wrong to you.

This is life.  More to the point, this is YOUR life.  There’s no sense resisting.  Things simply are as they are.  There’s nothing in that, that means that you can’t work to make them better.  But, in the mean time, drop the victim story.  The sympathy you’ll get for it is not worth the cost it takes on your soul.

Your answer is your power; your joy; even, what comes “easy” even when your car was stolen and your Grandfather placed in the hospital.

I’m not a victim.  I’m the victor.

For today, drop your complaints, drop your victim story.  Do not complain about another thing in your life, for today.  This is simply the life you’ve made yourself.  Even if someone else did something to you.  No one else is coming to your rescue; no one else is going to take care of you.  You don’t need them to.  You’ll figure this out on your own.  And, you’ll do it, because… you’re not a victim.

You’re the victor.  Even if you’re still figuring it all out along the way.

Permission to reprint to double opt-in lists and public Web sites automatically granted PROVIDED you include the following accompanied by this notice and live Web link: Copyright © 2001, Mark Farmer, Life Success Engine – the Engine Driving Your Life Success: http://LifeSuccessEngine.com