One of the greatest principles that I learned from “Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude“33 was that of turning what is an apparent failure into a success.
The book mentions that one of the authors (W. Clement Stone) had the habit of saying “That’s Great!” whenever someone presented him with a problem.
Well… I’ve had a problem for about 5 days now…
I’ve been sick… it feels like the flu. I’ve been getting to the day job, but today I finally called off.
That’s Great!
Huh?
One of the things that I’m realizing about myself is that I’m really good at using illness as an excuse to get out of responsibility. I learned early on that if I can create a cold sore, or a stomach ache, or a migraine, or even an addiction, I can relieve myself of responsibility to create my world the way I want it.
But when I relieve myself of that responsibility, someone else will take it over.
And quite frankly, I’m tired of that!
I think it’s pretty interesting that I got this ill just after starting my 17 Success Principles project, and actually sticking with it for the last 10 days.
It’s like my body said “Holy Crap, this guy might actually accomplish something! Shut down the immune system, it’s not safe, it’s not safe! He’s not falling for our regular distractions… shut it down NOW!”
That’s fine. I rested up today, but it’s time to get back to work. It’s good that I got this ill… it gave me time to reflect on just how often I’ve done this in my life, whether consciously or unconsciously (from days off in school to never having to take any responsibility in jobs I’ve had.)
I take responsibility now.
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Have you ever experienced this? I know many have… as a matter of fact, this post has been rolling around in my head since this episode of the Law of Attraction Live radio show, in which one of the callers brought it up.
Maybe next time I won’t have to make myself physically ill in order to write about the stuff in my noggin. :)3
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4 Comments
I can see a part of myself in that post. Gladly it’s a part of myself that is not very present nowadays. Get rid of it and you’ll see how much a better person you’ll become.
Hi A Marques,
Until this latest battle, I thought I’d done a pretty good job of exorcising it myself. I’m so grateful of being conscious of it enough this time around. Thanks for the comment.
Lyman,
I think it really is great! Because that level of self-awareness is so powerful! You know how you tend to sabotage yourself that is a huge part of the battle.
Hope you’re feeling better soon!
Thanks, Karen. I am feeling better after resting for a bit, and keeping focused on health, rather than the sickness.
This is such an amazing journey of self discovery…