It's YOU

This is reposted from Tony Horton's Blog. Very on-point. STOP the excuses!

It's not your mother or your father. Not your sister or your brother. It's not your God or your Government. It's not the high school bully or your eighth grade home room teacher. It's not your therapist or your wife or your boyfriend. It's not luck or even circumstance. It's not your height, weight or age that makes life great, or not. It's You! It's you that makes you happy or sad. It's you that makes you smart or stupid. It's you that eats right or not. It's you that chooses to exercise or to sit on your ass. It's you who puts the cigarette in your mouth. It's you that yells at your 3 year old daughter. It's you that doesn't have patience when you need it. Your parents created you, but it's you that decides to make something of yourself. Point the finger in the mirror because that image before you is the only creature on earth that can guarantee happiness, fitness, health, love, joy, purpose and a state of well being. Hoping and wishing that everyone and everything else is going to bring you a better life is a farce and a fantasy.

When you learn how to rely on yourself, you discover that it's not really about you anyway. When you finally stop relying on others for your happiness and blaming them when it doesn't happen you'll see life for what it really is. A community where we help each other. The transition from "me and my problems" to "how can I help." is easier for some than others, but it needs to happen if you want a full and happy life. You have to get your act together because important people in your life need you. They need you to be thoughtful and trustworthy. They want you to listen and NOT give advice unless they ask. They hope you'll be patient, caring and understanding. If you pull this off you'll also learn than perfect strangers are willing to listen to you, because you'll have something they want. You'll have the formula for a good life. A happy life. A healthy life. You will no longer need to rely on others for your happiness because your happiness will come from helping others.