Only I can change My Life, No one can do it for me

Only I can change my Life: Only I can change my life. It is such a powerful statement to make – reflects on you taking ownership of your life for better or worse. It also tells me that you are fed up of giving reasons or feeling like a victim. You are willing to step up and make things happen for yourself. Trust me, this is not an easy place to get to.

You’d need to fight a lot of demons that make you doubt yourself and blame the circumstances along the way. But at some point, your mind tells you that – enough is enough. I’m not willing to wallow in self-pity and helplessness anymore. I’m now ready and want to take control of my life.

It is at these moments, where some of the seminal changes in life happen. These moments of decisions are the most powerful influencers in our lives. They make us go beyond what we see to what we want out of life. Hence these words – ‘only I can change my life’ linger and take you to the right places that you want to get to.

This powerful quote by Carol Burnett reminds us to take ownership of our lives. We often blame the circumstances or people around us, particularly when things feel hard. Although a part of it might be true, we must ask the question, “So what?” This is the one question that can change your life.

Only I can change my life no one can do it for me

Both parts of this quote are powerful. Only I can change my life tells me that no one else has the power or responsibility to change my life. My life is my responsibility – only I get to choose what happens with it. Sure, we will take some help along the way. But the decision and work to make things happen is still mine. I can’t leave it to someone else to do it for me. At moments of weakness, we’d hope that someone would come in and swoop all these problems away. Even with the best intentions, this might not happen.

only I can change my life, self belief quotes, carol burnett quote, change life quote, no one can do it for me, ownership in life, life quotes
Only I can change My Life, No one can do it for me – Carol Burnett

As Carol Burnet highlights – only I can change my life, no one else can do it for me. This is a key reminder about these states of learned helplessness. The helpless situation makes us feel like a victim. When we feel this, there is no path forward. We can’t even think about a solution because we are waiting for someone else to come and solve our problem.

Can you imagine how horrible it sounds? Even if someone wants to help us out, will they know how to do it? They know nothing about what you know or how deeply you feel about something. No one can be the right person to swoop in and solve your problems. You are the main owner of these problems and their solutions.  

How can I change my life once and for all?

This can be a powerful question – there are basically two lines of thought for this. One of them says that change happens with time. I don’t like this because it tells us that it is a long and hard journey. The other school of thought says that change happens in an instant. And this instant is magical because the instant that brings about change can be now. It talks about possibilities and makes us think of a solution rather than just the problem.

If you are in a place where you need change, then the sense of urgency is the most powerful thing. You’ve got to believe that change happens in an instant. This is not only because of convenience but also because it gives you the best chance of taking control of your life. Again, I remind you of Carol Burnet’s words – only I can change my life. This change must happen now! That’s it – once you make that decision, life immediately changes.

But decisions are not easy, it means that you’ll have to commit to this and think of this as the way forward in life. Decisions must be supported by actions. The beauty of this feeling is such that once you make this decision in the mental and emotional space, your mind will be obsessed with it. It will engage all creative juices possible to find the right solution for you. So, don’t be daunted with the idea that change takes time. Change need not take forever. It can be now if you decide to make it happen. But that’s the main and only thing – you must decide to make it happen and go for it all in!

Only I can change My Life, No one can do it for me

– Carol Burnett

References:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/351613.Carol_Burnett


Discover more from Inspire99

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Vinay Nagaraju

Product Director with 10+ years in leadership roles - team building, product strategy, coaching and mentoring are a part of my everyday responsibilities. I write about motivational words that inspire us and shape our thinking and help us go beyond these thoughts to find what our minds are telling us and evolve.

This Post Has 15 Comments

  1. antonysamy

    Everyone has got his own problems .So we have to work out for any change in our life Great thoughts.

    1. Vinay Nagaraju

      True, the fabric of these challenges keep changing. If I may try and goad further, I think a common tendency is to ask for advice when we feel down. It is imperative to remember that each problem is a different fabric and no one’s solution or advice is the right fit for us. We have to take it with a pinch of salt and know that in the end, it is only our decision which can make a difference.

      No matter how good any advice is, it has to make sense to the person in question – or else it just reaches a mute point. Thanks for your thoughts Antony, love to hear more

  2. Unishta

    Completely true! You are the only person who can change your life mainly because your motivation is what drives things forward. Of course there are external factors that prevent or create road blocks but if you have the desire and determination you can change your life.

    1. Vinay Nagaraju

      Indeed, desire, determination and motivation to take things forward. I like how the quote brings focus back to the one person who can truly make a difference and solve the problems that challenge us. Of course we will have external support, but we need to be ready to take that in.

      In my case, I have been lucky to have had the road blocks and external support to sort out the problems. However, I do realise that it took some time for me to be ready to make use of the support systems. There was a period where the mind was stuck in its thoughts and trying to make sense. The defining moment of course was when I was ready and wanted to do something about it. It is fabulous to see that there is so much support out there when you reach out to a problem from a position of strength as opposed to weakness.

      1. Unishta

        Indeed ! You are blessed to be able to come out of your problems

        1. Vinay Nagaraju

          Well, I seem to have a knack to finding new ones quite frequently ;) :D

  3. Mayuresh

    Absolutely true…..no one not even your loved ones can…maximum they can do it is to motivate…..it’s basically all in the mind….thanka

    1. Vinay Nagaraju

      You mention a very important point Mayuresh. At the low points of disappointment, esp with after the IAS failures, I was a bit distraught. I went about it to everyone I loved and kept wondering why I wasn’t getting any help. This thought made a lot of difference to me – helped my mind away from the constant negative feeling which kept me wondering why no one is willing to help. Now that I look back, I realise how amazing the support I got was. People gave me time and opportunity to realise what I really want which looking back now is such a fantastic support. But the thought essentially is the same – it is your own thing, no one else can truly make a difference apart from you. That’s probably the beauty of every experience which goes south – it reminds us how strong and capable we are to make the difference we really want to :). Makes me respect everything the mind is capable of ten fold.

All we need is a spark to engage a fantastic conversation, please leave your thoughts to inspire our readers

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.