Take control of your life

“When you wear the victim T-shirt, you become a passenger in your life and allow circumstances and other people to determine your direction. - Paul McGee"

Paul McGee - SUMO We are all guilty of blaming others when things go wrong and some of us actually enjoy playing the victim. In his book, SUMO "Shut Up, Move On", Paul McGee talks about taking responsibility for your own life. He writes in a very entertaining and inspirational way and if you need a life coach but can’t afford the fees, Paul McGee’s book will help transform your life. Press the "Buy from amazon" button to get your copy of the book.

In precise, easy to understand laguage, Paul describes the process of assessing your life. He starts with three questions:

  1. Which person has the biggest influence on your life?
  2. Who deserves the most credit for where you currently find yourself in life?
  3. Whose advice and opinions do you tend to always act upon?

Paul's own answers to these questions are "I do, I do, my own", although he does confess that this was not always his response! The point being made here is that, the biggest single factor that determines where you currently find yourself in life is ‘you’. We live in a climate and culture where this outlook is not always encouraged. How comfortable do you feel about standing up and saying ‘I take fully the responsibility for my life? Many people not only feel uncomfortable saying that statement, they would also disagree with it. Paul calls this the "Blame Someone Else" crisis.

When a group of victim T-shirt wearers get together they hold a ‘blame storming’ session. So how do you change your T-shirt and take control of your life?

  • Shut Up the ‘whatever will be, will be’ attitude and Move On to creating your own future.
  • Don’t wait until it’s too late to decide how to live the rest of your days.
  • If you want more success in life, define what that means to you.
  • Shut Up a narrow view of success and Move On to broaden your definition.
  • Make sure you give your own life a regular service.
  • Work-life fulfilment comes when we pay attention to our Career (or work), Relationships, Recreation and Contribution.
  • Don’t live your life by default. Set goals to create a sense of purpose and direction in your life.
  • Create memories worth remembering.
  • Dream big, start small.
  • Shut Up believing success will just happen, Move on to develop a plan to create it.

This article is based on extracts from Paul McGee's book SUMO (Shut Up, Move On). More details of his book can be found at www.thesumoguy.com