Life has no remote. Get up and change yourself. – Unknown
There’s no remote control to do that for you. Baby, you’re going to have to get up and do it yourself.
What does that mean?
This is a fun quote, especially since I’m old enough to have been the remote control for the TV back in the old days. Dad would say the channel, or what needed to change with the antenna or the volume, and I’d get up and do it. Yeah, I’m even older than the internet.
But that’s what this quote is all about. We live in an era when there are remotes for the TV, for the radio and all the entertainment devices we have. We have remotes for the blinds, for ceiling fans, the car and house alarms, and even the bath tub.
But in life, if we want something important changed, we have to do it ourselves. The mail won’t get itself. The food won’t cook itself. The bedroom won’t paint itself. The bills won’t pay themselves. We have to get up and do that. No remote control will suffice.
When the thing we want to change is ourselves, the quote gets really to the point, as the only way to change ourselves is to do it ourselves. Do you want to lose weight? Want to learn a skill, a language, or a sport? Want to find a date? You’re going to have to do that yourself. No one else can do it for you.
Why is getting up and doing it yourself important?
Besides the obvious fact that nothing is going to get up and do it for you, there are the concepts of personal responsibility and the joys of being proactive to consider when determining how important it is. Personally, the last one is one of my favorites, at least most of the time.
When you make a change within yourself, things start to change within yourself. Not just the change you are planning on making, but other little things as well. When you set your mind to getting up and doing something to change yourself, you start making other changes, often without even knowing it.
Once you have started changing yourself, other changes you’ve wanted to do, but never gotten up and changed, will start to respond and change along with the official change you are working on. It sounds weird, but that’s how it has worked for myself and several other people with whom I have discussed this phenomenon.
Where can I apply this in my life?
Well, whining won’t change much. Neither will complaining, begging, cajoling, cursing, berating, or any other -ing you can think of, besides doing. If you want change, get up and get busy, right? That’s what this quote is all about.
What changes have you been thinking about? A different haircut? It may sound trivial, but it can impact how you look at yourself, how you feel, and can even impact your mood. Even for guys, there can be (if you have that bent) a bit of a boost after getting “tidied up,” even if you don’t change the hair style.
Once you’re feeling better about yourself and your appearance, you may find it’s a little easier to be disciplined about snacking, you might have a bit more motivation for exercising, and might dust off some of your nicer clothes. All these changes because you got up and changed your hair a little.
More significant changes can also have “coat tails” and make the change that much more interesting. If you were looking to lose some serious weight and build a little muscle, stamina, flexibility or other body aspects, you might find you’re altering your eating habits without even planning it. I know it has worked that way for me before.
What might happen to your feelings about yourself, and how you fit in with the rest of the world? Might you find yourself a little more personable, and find it easier to interact with others? What other things might come along with these changes?
These are just a few examples, I’m sure you could find many more in your own life, if you were to examine it. That might be considered a hint. But the point remains that you are the only one who can make these changes, and only if you get up and make them yourself.
There is no remote control. There are no short cuts. There is only effort, failure, and repetition. You will only change when you get up and get started. So what are you waiting for?
From: Twitter, @RealChrisPowell
confirmed at : Not found, but all over the net, including t-shirts & church signs.
Photo by andrechinn
