‘People are Idiots and I can Prove it’
This is one of my favorite books that has helped me reshape my life. It has helped me realize that my life is my own responsibility; how it turns out is dependent on how I treat it. In other words, this book has taught me how to take responsibility of my life, to stop blaming others for what is happening in my life. I would like to share with you some of the lessons I’ve gotten from Larry Winget‘s audio book; People are Idiots and I can Prove It.
Have you ever found yourself saying or having similar thoughts like the ones below?
- I am a bitter person because of my parents
- I am poor or uneducated because I come from a poor or uneducated family
- I didn’t do well because the teacher didn’t mark my paper well
- I cannot work on the project because my boss hasn’t said so
- My life sucks because my employer does not pay me well
- I am unhealthy or physically unfit because I work hard as a parent and have no time to work out or eat healthy
Do you see anything common in these statements? Everything that’s happening is other people’s fault, not me. I used to be like this and I still am in some cases, but one thing I have learned and keep learning is the fact that as an adult, I am the sole owner of my life and of how it turns out; I am responsible for my life. I have the power and right to change my situation if I do not like it. It should be mentioned that there are certain outcomes in our lives that are entirely not in our control, for instance a sudden illness, natural disasters and death itself. All these happen with little or no control on our part. However, things like our education, health, relationships, careers, etc, are all things within our control and we are responsible for how they turn out for us. So if you are able to identify yourself with 1 or more of the statements above, here are some of the lessons I got from Larry that may help you stop giving other people credit for the way your life has turned out, and instead start taking the credit yourself by taking full ownership and responsibility of your actions, behavior, emotions and life as a whole.
Some of the reasons why people are idiots:
- People are ignorant (not knowing what it takes to do something, be something or have something)
- Being ignorant of things that have nothing to do with your success isn’t critical, but being ignorant of things that matter is inexcusable. Ask yourself, what are some things I need to know in order for me to do better? What information do I need that will help me be more successful, healthier, smarter, richer, etc., that I don’t know now?
- People are lazy
- Many people have the time to do things that feel good, things that are easy or that don’t matter, but have no time to do the important things
- A better life should matter to you enough to do whatever it takes whether convenient or not. So what more can you be doing to make your relationships, work, health, life as whole better?
- People lack vision
- People are able to see success happening in other people’s lives, but cannot imagine success happening in their own lives.
- You need to move beyond that vision of how your life has always been and begin to picture your life the way you want it to look. Things are the way they are in our lives because it is the way we’ve allowed them to be and because that’s all we expect.
- The future is yours to see and yours to create, you just have to be willing to do it. Don’t like the way your life looks, g et a new vision and make it happen.
How people can stop being idiots:
- First you need to recognize and admit that you’ve been messing up, that as an adult, you are responsible for the way your life has turned out. Just like the way it takes you to recognize that you are not feeling well in order for your to do something about it, you need to recognize what is not going on well in your life and instead of blaming others, take ownership and responsibility of it.
- Once you recognize and admit that your life is not as good as you want it to be, learn, get educated. Education or learning will help you become aware of the negative consequences of bad behaviors and it will also help you understand that it was your own actions that created the consequences. This will enable you to understand what the wrong actions are and be more willing to change. However, education alone will not change things for you, you have to take action
- You cannot just think your way to a better life, you need to take action. Don’t waste time saying what you have planned to do, do it. You don’t have to be good or to have all the knowledge to start, but you do have to start doing something in order for you to become better.
The way to do things is to begin; if you are ever going to get started, you’ve got to get started right now.
This is simply a snapshot of what this book shares, however, I hope this will be helpful to get you started on working to making your life better. I want my life to be better than what it has always been, so instead of blaming other people like I’ve always done, I am actually doing something about it.