It is up to you?

There was a wise old man who lived high in the Himalayan Mountains. He was known throughout the area as being the wisest man alive. He could predict what type of weather the local villages would have so they knew when to plant their crops. They would come to him with questions about illnesses or disputes between neighbors.

One day, a young boy decided he was going to trick the wise old man. He brought a bird up to the top of the hill and requested to see him. When the wise man was before him, cupping the bird between his hands, the boy asked, “What do I have in my hand?”

“A bird,” the man answered instantly, as the boy knew he would.

“Is the bird alive or dead?” the boy asked.

The old man looked at the boy for a moment. Then he answered, “If I say the bird is alive, you will crush it in your hands to show me that it is dead. If I say the bird is dead, you will open your hands and let the bird fly free. The power is in your hands.”

Just as the bird’s life was in the boy’s hand, we hold our own lives in our hands. It’s true there are many things we can’t control in our lives, but think of all that we can. Think of how much our decisions and how actions affect the state of our lives.

Reaching Goals

The distance between you and your goals is measured by your actions. If you want a promotion, you have to make the choice to work for it: to put in extra hours, to network at the cocktail party you don’t feel like going to, to be early for morning business meetings. These are all choices. What you choose to do today changes who you are tomorrow.

When we have health and fitness goals, it’s easy to get sidetracked in the here and now. Sure, eating that piece of cake doesn’t make much of a difference today, but choosing to eat those junk foods over a long period of time certainly does. You have to control the future by making good choices in the present. A month’s worth of healthy eating choices is certainly going to pay off, even if you don’t notice the difference at the end of the day.

Your diet is comprised of your individual choices. You can choose whether to hit snooze or wake up and work out. You choose how hard you push yourself in your workouts and how strict you are with your nutrition. The power is in your hands.

Our goals are not going to just happen to us. Someone else is not going to decide whether or not we have earned it or deserved it. You have to take the necessary action to complete your goal.

Write Down Your Goals

There is a simple way to take control of your life: write your goals down. You are much more likely to achieve them if they are written on paper. If it’s helpful, write down smaller goals that all serve your end goal, like a little roadmap for how you are going to get there.

If everyone in your family writes down a goal, you can hang it somewhere you will all see it, like on the refrigerator. Telling someone else your goal is also really helpful because now you have someone else to hold you accountable. You and your family hold the power to succeed in your own hands.