Captain of Your Ship

One of my favorite Jim Rohn quotes is "The same wind blows on us all; the winds of disaster, opportunity and change.  Therefore, it's not the blowing of the wind, but the setting of the sails that will determine our direction in life.  We've all had those time in our lives where we feel like everything is against us and nothing is going right.  In those moments it's easy to adopt a "why me" mentality and hyper focus on the challenges that you're facing.  Those are also the same moments where it seems as if everyone around you is making more money, taking extravagant vacations and enjoying life to the fullest.  Maybe it's just me, but at times, I've started to believe that this is ONLY happening to me and I'm the unluckiest person in the world!

This quote has often served as a good reminder to me that I'm the captain of my ship and that if I don't like the direction, I'm the only one to blame.  That doesn't mean that life isn't going to through challenges your way, but how you prepare for and navigate those challenges is something that we can all control.  In a society where is victimhood is more popular than personal ownership, this isn't a popular point of view.  However, if you take an Extreme Ownership perspective (an AMAZING book), even those things that are seemingly out of our control have often been impacted by our decisions and actions.  Only through choosing to be your own captain and learning from the challenges you face will you ever begin to reach smoother waters.  

Only after adopting this mindset did my personal experiences begin to improve.  When I decided that I would steer through the challenges, and use the wind to my benefit, I became happier, more productive and began moving closer to my goals.  So, are you happy with where your boat is currently taking you?  If not, how can you be a better captain?