Like you, I have read a variety of personal development books and articles aimed at getting more things done. Some are imaginatively illustrated with cute characters other are littered with profound quotes from authors famous and obscure. I can’t really say any of are bad. Every one of them provided me with useful tips and some degree of motivation.

However, try this simple test if you dare. Take all the books, articles, day planners, and software and lock them in a room and come back in an hour, or a day, or a year. How much work was done? I’ll bet none! The prime ingredient to any successful personal productivity program is you. You’re the only one that can really get things moving.

At this point you’re either saying “duh!” or “doh!” depending on who your favorite characters are. Pointing out that you’re the prime ingredient may not be the most imaginative statement, however, it leads to the second most important ingredient. The second most important ingredient is the habit of taking personal responsibility. A lot of managers, parents, and teachers often use “personal responsibility” as a sort of whip or pointing device to emphasize that “it’s all your fault.” Well, that’s not what I mean. What I mean by personal responsibility is an act of your will that executes your decision to take action or make something about your life better.

If there is anything I could give you, or help you with, it would be to improve the quality of your life. Everything I’ve read and everything I’ve seen leads me to this conclusion: regularly exercising your will to put action to your decisions is, by far, the most important ingredient to improving your quality of life. It may be true and undeniable that you are too fat or too thin, too young or too old, or born at the wrong time or in the wrong place. But after we pat you on the head, agree with your misery, and give you a chocolate chip cookie what will you have? Nothing! You’ve lost a few more moments of precious, precious life that can never, ever be replaced.

So, now what? Well, do it! Take up the challenge. First, do some soul searching and decide what you really want out of life. Second, no matter how bad your life is right now, it probably has several positive attributes so make a list of the good things. Third, identify those things that would make your life better, not a lot better but just a little bit better. Fourth, take action. Do something that will move you toward your better life. Don’t ever permit yourself the luxury of blaming anyone else again. No, I don’t mean take the blame for the waiter spilling soup all over your outfit. Simply realize that it is a fact that it happened but that you and you alone determine how you react to the spilled soup. You could scream, you could cry, or you could just enjoy the rest of the meal.

Can’t stand your job? Start looking for a better one, patiently. If necessary, start studying to achieve the desired position. Do you hate where you live? Where do you want to live? Not ideally, like a penthouse or a palace. Instead, find that place that is one  level better, then make the necessary adjustments to get there. You can make your life better.  You are the only person who can. Keep at it.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 19th, 2008 at 10:10 pm and is filed under Life Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.