Taking Responsibility
Everyone is responsible for what shows up in his or her life. Whether you intended it to be there or whether it got there “by accident” it is incumbent upon you to deal with whatever it is that’s there as if you planned for it. Most people do not operate that way.
“It’s not my fault.”
“I didn’t do it.
“Don’t blame me.”
“It’s not my problem.
“I’m not the responsible party.”
“She’s the one who started it.”
The only way to go forward in life is to always take responsibility for everything that is in your life. That includes the things you like and the ones you don’t. It includes the people you have deliberately chosen to be with and those who are there for some other reason. It includes how you operate on a day-by-day basis and even a moment-by-moment basis. Whether or not the issue is “fair” or “reasonable” is of no matter, the thing to do is address the situation as effectively as possible, owning every aspect of it, even those things that occurred that were not in any way caused by you.
Operating this way is an enormous protection, even though it is sometimes dauntingly difficult. If you are fully responsible for everything that intersects your life and you deal with it that way, you will never be a victim. You will never be at the effect of something outside of you over which you have little to no control. You will never be permanently damaged by any negative event. That, folks is a BIG deal.
Some people deal with adversity by getting angry and seeking revenge. Some people shrivel up and go into hiding. Some people talk themselves into a stupor. Only a few people look at the rocks and make rock soup.
It can take a long time to figure out how to deal with adverse circumstances. It can take quite a while to dig out from under a big mess that has fallen upon your shoulders. If, while working on things, you don’t even see the light at the end of the tunnel, as long as you do what needs to be done, proceeding in the best way available at the time, sooner or later you will see the sunshine.
We all admire the runner who looses his legs in an accident and eventually goes on to be on a winning team of wheelchair basketball. We admire the person who looses use of his arms who learns to paint using his mouth to hold the brush (saw one of these folks on TV just recently). We do not admire the person who stubs his toe on the sidewalk and decides to sue for $10 million of damages and then uses the settlement money to buy a yacht.
If something happens to your voice, taking responsibility is the only way to go. Get help. Find out what’s wrong. Find out what’s possible. Look for answers and do the work required to make a new, different way to speak or sing. The lesson you learn there could apply to the rest of your life. How you deal with adversity, is how you deal with adversity, no matter where it falls.
Success amounts to getting up one more time than you have been knocked down.