The Me First Movement!

I think it’s time! We’ve seen too many years of blaming everyone else but ourselves for the situations we find ourselves in. But the truth is, we’ve done it to ourselves. The decisions we make lead us to the outcomes we get. The level of our efforts create the results we experience. Our inability to accept our personal responsibility for what happens has paralyzed us and been our greatest liability. If we want to make our world a better place, we will each need to say “ME FIRST!” By this I mean I will not wait for others to take action, say their sorry, roll up their sleeves, speak the truth, or do any of the other positive things that can make my life better.

In talking with a client the other day I was told that the way things had gone lately had just made him angry. He’d been lied to and treated unfairly and he felt like he was just going to the office every day as an angry man. He couldn’t forgive what people had done to him. It was just awful the way he was treated. I asked him if the people he was angry at knew he was angry? He said, “gee, I don’t know!” So what good was his anger doing? If all he is doing is getting angry at the office and the only people who know he’s angry are his employees, who’s being hurt? Only the people he cares about. By forgetting about it and moving on he can find personal peace and his employees will be able to get back to work and make good things happen.

I also heard about a woman whose husband failed to get the house cleaned up while she was visiting her sick mother. There were dishes in the sink and clothes overflowing the clothes hamper and she just blew her top. Her husband hung his head and apologized for letting things go but she just poured it on more. She belittled him for being lazy and told him to clean things up. She stayed mad at him for a month and refused to even talk to him. Their two children didn’t know what to make of the situation and we’re afraid of what was next. After a month her husband asked her why she was holding such a grudge. He told her he loved her and he had been doing everything he could to be a 50-50 partner since she got back. She refused to talk to him and continued her display of anger. Finally, after 6 weeks, the woman talked to her mother and told her what her husband had done and that she was making sure he knew how mad he made her. Her mom, who was still not back to full health told her daughter that she wasn’t punishing her husband, she was punishing herself. The poison she was aiming at her husband was making her a bitter, unhappy person. Her mom told her to make a nice dinner tomorrow night and apologize to her husband for acting so childishly. Her mom finished her advice by telling her, “the best thing any person can do for themselves is to be the first to say I’m sorry and the first to forgive.”

It was these two people that convinced me that we need the “ME FIRST Movement.” It’s not about being selfish. It’s about being selfless. By being the first to take personal responsibility, we can change our world! And as I a see it, our world could use some changing. If you read this blog post, how about it, can we start a “ME FIRST MOVEMENT?” Like this post, share it, or make a comment. Let’s start a movement!