I am sick as a dog. It is very late (compared to when I usually post). I just finished this off after arriving home. And yet I wanted to post a little something for you all that I’ve had on my mind. #dedication

I’m going to keep this one short and sweet. I also realised when I was thinking about this concept, that it kind of touches on what I spoke about two weeks ago in my last blog post. This idea that we are in charge of our own lives, and our own destiny.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a family whose core values consisted of hard work, and the truth that it doesn’t matter where you come from, or what you were born into, you decide where you go from there. One of my dad’s favourite quotes, a quote he often reiterates to us, is one of the great Carl Marx’s:

Man makes his own destiny. But not under the conditions of his own choosing.

I come from a middle-class family and have been born with what some might say a challenging condition. But not once would I ever claim that this is it for me. I believe that someday I will do something great. I don’t know what exactly that is yet, but I know I will start by working hard and seizing every opportunity that comes before me. That’s the part of my life that I have control over. There is no excuse.

We can narrow this idea down even further. There are many things in this life that we have control over. Sometimes on really bad days, we can fall into the mindset that life is against us, that there is nothing we can do right. That our lives are out of our hands and we have no control over what happens.

In contrast, there are some people who believe that even in a positive way, we have no control over our lives. Our destiny is in the hands of some higher power. It’s purely up to fate, or dare I say it, up to God. And while I strongly agree that everyone is entitled to their beliefs, I think to claim that there is nothing we have control over is absurd. This belief in the higher power deciding everything for us is beyond crazy. And if I’m being really honest, I think sometimes it’s a justification for some people who aren’t prepared to take responsibility for their own choices.

Like I said I’ll keep it simple, here is a list of 20 things we have control over in this life. Believe me there is a ton more but if I were to give you everything, I could be sitting here typing for days.

1. Our emotions
2. Our behaviour
3. Our manners
4. Our education
5. Who our friends are
6. What we wear
7. Where we want to go (travel/social events)
8. Who we want to be (personality/occupation)
9. Our careers/job
10. Our work ethic
11. Our motivation
12. Our health and wellbeing
13. Organisation
14. Our thoughts (make them positive rather than negative)
15. The way we perceive ourselves and others around us
16. Showing and recognising kindness
17. What we believe
18. What we say
19. How we use social media
20. Our goals, dreams and desires

Like I said, there are so many more! But that’s all I have time for now.

Have a lovely day! xx