Hope you’ve had another great week! 🤸♂️
What if I told you that you might be making choices that might be taking away your ownership, authority and power over your life and business.
Before I do, I want to tell you about the insane experience I had right after I wrote this blog post 🤪
Unexpected Setbacks
I wrote this post last Friday which is when I was going to publish it, however, it seems like something was preventing me.
30 seconds after I saved the MS Word copy of this post my laptop screen went blue and turned off and suddenly, I had no access to my post or even a laptop to do my work!
I decided to do some social media posting on my phone and posted about my laptop and keeping focused when unexpected setbacks happen. This included an image of the eye of a tiger with the phrase “Don’t Lose Focus” written on it.
I posted it… Facebook flagged me instantly, suspended my access to my Facebook ads, groups and live. They labelled my post and accused me of posting an image related to sexual exploitation. 😲
It’s been a week since I appealed, and I haven’t heard any result from the so-called independent fact checkers that are supposed to review the appeal.
What a day it was! I just got my laptop back, and it was the screen that needed replacing 🕺 but still no access to my Facebook ads. 🤦♂️
It’s said you can’t always control what happens to you, but you can control how you handle it. We need to stay focused and look for solutions.
Who knows why it all happened, what I do know is that this post is about something very important, so keep reading!
I’ve been sharing with you some updates over the past weeks regarding the Facebook lead ad I’ve been running and I’m going to put that aside this week so I can focus more time on what I think is an important topic.
Power in Choices 💪
We all know that the choices we make are either going to help us or hinder us in any area of life and business. We also know or should know that we alone carry the power to make those choices.
I believe there’s power released when we make a choice and it’s going to generate either a positive or a negative outcome.
Think back and reflect on some of the choices you’ve made over the years… I know it’s not always a fun thing to do, especially if you’re like me and made many bad choices 😊
You should be able to see the positive and negative outcomes of those choices.
There’s one choice that I’ve learned that gives us the power to take ownership of our lives and businesses!
What’s the Choice? 🤷♂️
Have you ever woken up late for school, an appointment, maybe even for work, and you stated, “my alarm clock didn’t go off”?
How about this one, “I’m late because a transit delay” or “Traffic on the road”
This all sounds normal and can be true, right?
What if I told you that by choosing to respond this way leads to a negative outcome.
What, how can that be?
By choosing responses like this we are not taking responsibility for our actions!
Did the alarm not go off or did you forget to set it? 😦
Did the power go out overnight or did you neglect to put a battery in the alarm in case the power went out. 😮
Was it the transit delay or could you have left earlier in case there was a delay? 😲
One-way blames something or someone else for what happened, the other way takes responsibility for what happens.
I’m talking about making the choice to take responsibility for the things that happen in your life and business.
In all fairness, there are things that happen that we may not be responsible for or have control over, but we can still choose the best response.
I’m talking about the things that we are responsible for.
This isn’t always an easy thing for us to do. In doing it we can identify that we’re the ones who made the mistake or are at fault.
There’s such a negative perspective about making mistakes, being at fault for something, or failing.
It’s not hard to blame it on other things instead of examining if we could have prevented it and learn from it.
Why is this so important ❓
Let me start by revealing that there is something called a “Locus of Control” and you can either live with an “Internal” or “External” Locus of Control.
- An internal locus of control is believing we are in control and taking responsibility for our own actions.
- An exterior locus of control is blaming external forces for our own circumstances.
What I’ve learned from my own life is when I take responsibility for my own actions I take ownership of my life. I have authority over my life and there is power in that. 💪
If I choose to blame external forces for everything, I feel I’m giving up ownership of my life, have no authority over my life and am therefore powerless in life.
Does this make sense now?
One lifestyle leads to empowerment, growth and success, the other stagnates, leaves you powerless and never in control.
All of this also applies to business and is just as important❗💯
Remember my post 2 weeks ago?
A couple weeks back I wrote a blog post which included a session I had with one of my mentors for almost 30 minutes.
In this session I was getting feedback on new Facebook ad images and slogans I made up so I can alter my lead ad. It was a hard session to swallow, sounded like I did everything wrong. 😥
But I learned so much. It was excellent constructive feedback.
It’s sad to say, but there was a day in my younger years where I would have got defensive and blamed everything around me. It was Canva, poor selection of options, it’s just the mentor who has different taste than me, blah blah blah…
Thank goodness I learned to take responsibility for my actions!
Every time we choose to blame external forces or other people when we should be taking responsibility, we are giving up some ownership, giving up some authority, giving up some power!
So going back to those simple excuses I shared earlier, woke up late because the alarm, arrived late because transit delay… They are simple ways to identify our locus of control.
Take inventory of those choices. Choose to take responsibility.
Take your ownership, authority and power back!
Until next post… Sorry, I went a little emoji crazy today 🤪
Talk soon,
Denny
P.S. Please take a moment and leave some feedback. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post! If there are any question you have I’d love to help you… It won’t be a sales pitch, just help 🙂
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This is so true! We have the power to figure things out, take control and adjust our thoughts and behaviour accordingly. Great post!
Thanks for you comment! Indeed we do have the power in us 🙂
All the best! Denny
Hi Denny – This was an incredibly powerful post and I gained so much from reading it! The fact that we get to make choices is a gift that I cherish. What I don’t cherish often is the bad choices that I make. If I am honest with myself, sometimes I choose incorrectly on purpose. No, I don’t self-sabotage, I just make mistakes. But then I get the opportunity to have a second choice in how I respond to that poor decision. You’re very eloquently described the concept of the power of choices. My favorite line in what you posted is “What I’ve learned from my own life is when I take responsibility for my own actions I take ownership of my life. I have authority over my life and there is power in that.” Thank you for choosing to write this blog this week and I look forward to your future posts. An excellent week!
Hi Ernie,
Thanks so much for your comment and feedback!
I’m so happy you were positively impacted by the post and enjoyed it.
It seems like the process we all go through making choices that are mistakes, not necessarily self-sabotage.
Hopefully, as you do, we can make a second choice to move forward from the mistake.
Your feedback is very encouraging, thank you!
Denny
What a bad week you had Denny! I’m glad that your computer is back in action. What a shock to have been wrongfully accused by Meta of inappropriate behaviour. Now you can understand why I have a fear of social media and that something like this can happen to anyone of us. Sometimes it is like taking one step forward in building our business and then two steps back!
May next week go smoothly for you. Take care.
Regina
Hi Regina,
Thank you for your comment and encouragement!
Yes, it can be a little intimidating with social media.
Although I’m going through this, I believe I get more positive outcomes from social media. More like 2 steps forward and 1 step back, but to not take a step at all means no chance for movement. Remember the saying, we miss 100% of the shots we don’t take 🙂
This is why we’re taught to have our own blog and following on our blog and email list.
We can use social media to drive people to our blog and email list, and if something happens like an account suspended and we can’t use Facebook, nobody can take away our blogs and lists already attained. Using anything that we don’t own can pose it’s problems but we still do this for a time.
Might as well use social media and get as much out of it as we can and drive that traffic to our blogs 🙂
All the best as you move forward 🙂
Denny
Excuses or procrastination or both? That’s always a good question to ask! Are they one and the same? We must be honest about that, too! Your FB lead ad frustration- how could that have been avoided? I’m curious what you think about that? Everything is a learning opportunity, after all!
Hi Kate,
Thanks for your comment and feedback!
Yes, good question to ask and very important!
How could have the FB issue been avoided would have been not to share the image.
How could some predetermine that an image of a tigers eye would trigger a sexual exploitation accusation?
I don’t think anyone would have expected that outcome, it was a harmless image.
Good question though 🙂 Thanks again.
Denny
Denny, that’s an important concept you bring up, “Locus of Control”.
It’s so easy to place the blame on social media or technology when things go awry.
My Achilles heel is technology as I’ve come to rely on it and when it misbehaves my programming background tells me it’s likely the idiot that programmed it – me – taking me back to the drawing board.
Robert Klein recently posted…Encounters of The Fourth Kind
Hi Robert,
Thanks for taking time to comment!
It is easy to blame, and I have certain limitations in social media and technology.
The interesting thing here is that right after I finished writing about the locus of control my laptop stopped working and then the FB issue.
I felt like it’s a timely post and I was going to go through it over the next several days and live the challenge i was writing about 🙂
I appreciate you sharing your experience in this regard!
All the best Robert!
Denny
Great insights on the importance of taking responsibility for our actions! Shifting from an external to an internal focus of control truly empowers us to take ownership of our lives and businesses. Your personal experiences and examples illustrate how vital it is to own our choices and their outcomes, leading to growth and success. This mindset shift can transform not just our productivity but our overall satisfaction and resilience in the face of setbacks. Thank you for sharing these valuable reflections!
Hi Alison,
Thanks so much for commenting!
So glad you enjoyed reading the post and agree with it 🙂
Thanks for adding value, indeed the shift can transform productivity and overall satisfaction and resilience!
This is important and thanks for sharing it 🙂
Until next post!
Denny
Hi Denny,
Wow, what a week you’ve had! I’m so glad you got your laptop fixed, and the Facebook hassle is just crazy! Your message about taking responsibility really made me think. It’s so easy to blame external factors, but owning our choices definitely makes a huge difference. Thanks for sharing your experience and insights. Keep it up and I hope you have a great week!
Meredith
Meredith Moore recently posted…Optimizing Your Welcome Email Sequence: Strategies for Lasting Impressions
Hi Meredith,
Thanks for your comment!
So glad that you enjoyed reading the post and hope it encouraged you!
Yeah, wasn’t a fun week but guess what… This stuff started after I wrote this post and I couldn’t post it.
It was like I had to experience it for a week and be challenged to a new level of taking responsibility before I could share the post.
Life has a way of playing out in a way that we learn, grow, and even from our own writings.
All the best this week!
Denny
Hey, Denny!
You are so right! It is easy to blame others and external forces when things go wrong – especially in our businesses. It seems like things are so out of my control sometimes. This is a great reminder to take control and do what I can. Focus on taking action rather than reacting. Thanks for this empowering post!
It sounds like you’ve had a lot of challenges lately. I hope you hear from Facebook soon!
Nakina
Hi Nakina,
Thanks for taking time to comment!
It does get so easy to blame doesn’t it 🙂 We’re a work in progress.
Funny thing about writing this, after I save it in MS Word my computer crashed and the the FB issue came.
It’s like I was destined to learn and experience what I was writing at another level before I could publish it.
Like it was meant to be 🙂 anyway, I appreciate you feedback and encouragement!
Denny
Oh man, this post resonates with me on a very deep level. It’s easy to make excuses and blame others because, ultimately, life will dictate how you live when you don’t prepare for life daily. Obviously, you can’t control everything that happens, but you definitely can control how you react and learn from what does happen. It’s far easier to say than to do, but the first step is to recognize that everyone plays a part in the direction in which your life flows. The other side of the coin is realizing and accepting that those around you, especially in your own household, will not be on the same level of accountability that you may be. It’s important first to recognize this and encourage those as examples of how to take ownership of dealing with the issues and circumstances that occur every day. Thank you, Denny, for an inspiring and eye-opening post. This topic can help you look at yourself and hopefully change the thought process necessary to move through life more effectively.
Hi Vanessa,
Thanks so much for taking time to comment!
You’re so right, you can’t control everything that happens, but can control your response!
I believe as you that everyone plays a part in the direction in which your life flows, however, I’ve learned that I can control who I allow to have that influence or contribution to my life. Not everyone, not even some family may have that role depending on how I perceive they choose to contribute.
Thanks again, you’ve contributed so much in your comment!!
Hope to see you back soon!
Denny
Hi Denny,
The power of choices! I was always told that whether you take a good one or a bad one doesn’t matter; as long as you’ve taken a choice… Later on in life, I got to a point where making decisions was something I took the time to ponder as to the result or outcome.
I can’t say that my choices were always the best but as you mention, I owned these choices and if there’s anything good that came out of it all it’s that I got better at it with time.
Taking ownership of our choices and their consequences is indeed a very powerful thing. I’m glad to read that you embraced and took ownership of it all, making you that much stronger!
All the best!
Hi Marc,
Thank you so much for commenting! I appreciate your feedback.
It sounds like you’ve been working on making choice the right way for s while and always improving!
That’s such a good thing. We all take time to get better… it’s a process after all.
Thanks for the encouragement and all the best as you continue in your journey 🙂
Denny
Denny I think another name for not taking responsibility for our actions is the victims syndrome. I try to experience each situation trying to identify both the positive point and negative point instead of just reacting to the situation. I have found that this not only de-escalates the situation but helps me be grateful for the experience. This has been a game changer for me. Keep Learning and Keep Having Fun!
Hi Ken,
Thank you for commenting 🙂
That’s such a great process! To take time and reflect on the overall situation and pull the positive and negative.
It’s certainly a balanced approach, to pause and reflect, giving time to calm down and decide with a clear head.
This is great, thanks again!
Denny
Hi Denny,
Ahh so sorry to hear of all the challenges you have been faced with recently, it can be disheartening, but it sounds as though some of you had time to reflect and came to some powerful realizations!
Choose to take responsibility for what happens to you and you take back your power, ownership, and authority!
Awesome!
Hi Eleanor,
Thanks for your comment and encouragement!
Things happen to everyone 🙂 we can’t grow stronger without experiencing challenges.
All the best in your journey!
Denny
What a rollercoaster of a week you’ve had! From your laptop drama to the Facebook fiasco, it’s amazing how you stayed focused and turned it all into a powerful message about taking responsibility. Your insights on the locus of control really hit home – it’s so true that owning our choices empowers us. Keep sharing these nuggets of wisdom; they’re incredibly inspiring. Looking forward to your next post!
Hi Sarah,
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
We can’t grow without experiencing challenges, and sometimes when it rains it pours.
I’m so happy you could relate to the insights on the locus of control and were inspired by the post 🙂
I hope to see you back again!
Denny