The Devil is You

What happens in your life when you listen to your better angels?

Or scarier still... when you don't?

There is always something to work on and improve in your life.
Knowing what to work on isn't the biggest problem typically.

And we often have a pretty good sense about how to improve.
With the what and how clear, whether or not we see progress
in the important areas of our lives comes down to our angels...
the bad ones and our better ones.

Most people fail to make progress for the following reasons:

1) They make a habit of ignoring their better angels...
the voice in your head that says,"you should...''
2) They make a habit of listening to their bad angels...
the voice of doubt, fear, or laziness that says,
"Nah... what you really want to do is…”
3) They lock themselves into a prison of distracted and avoidant thinking.
When this happens the impulse to do better sadly leads to counter-productive behavior.

So let's untangle this mess and figure out how you can
get above the ongoing battle in your head.


First, redefine what "taking responsibility” means.

For most people it means" taking on additional burden.”
You are not like most people.

For you, "taking responsibility'' means freedom and power.

It means the choices you make matter.
It means no matter where you find yourself
or what happens you have choices.
Better ones and worse ones.
You get to choose the better ones if you choose to.


Second, stop ignoring your better angels!

Ever wonder where that "you should..." voice comes from?

It comes from YOU, silly! 🙂

When you tell yourself that you want something -
"I want a better life," whatever that personally means -
your mind gets to work figuring it out
and suggests what you should do.

Next time you hear yourself say, "I should…,” DO!

Remember:
You are responsible.
You choose better.
You are your better angels.
When you give yourself a better choice, you take it.


Third, tell your bad angels to F*ck off.

Just as that "you should" voice comes from you, so does that," Nah..." voice.

Why?

When you tell yourself, "I want a better life" and
moments of choice come up, there will always be
a part of you that will resist the charge... your bad angel.

Why?

Because we don't like change.

Why?

Because change is hard.

Why?

Because change means we have to take on the fight
between our bad and better angels.
If we don't know how to win that fight we won't even try.
And this is where most people get stuck.
But not you.

Oh no -
You're responsible.
You do what you should because better choices
represent power and freedom.
Better choices is about listening to your better angels
and telling your bad angels to F-off.

Finally,
and this point is critical when you first set out to change-

Break the habit of letting your impulse to improve
lead to giving-in to your impulse to remain the same.
After years of telling yourself "I should...," telling yourself,
"Nah…,” and falling back on old habits,

THAT PATTERN BECOMES A HABIT ALL OF ITS OWN;

the prison of distracted and avoidant thinking;
the Matrix.

But now you have the KEY.

The key is, you are responsible.
You can choose different habits.
You can win the battle between your bad angels and your better angels-

BECAUSE YOU ARE THOSE ANGELS!

And you win by doing what you should.
Because you are brilliant.
When you say, "I want a better life," you come up with what and how."
You make the better choice when the moments of choice arrive.
You are responsible for increasing your power and freedom.
Because you are responsible, you have the power and
freedom to make better choices
if you only listen to your better angels.

Because, the devil is you.