For a long time, I didn’t realise I was making choices. I thought I was just living life.
Smoking 40 cigarettes a day.
Gambling until I was over £15,000 in debt.
Going out, drinking too much, spending money I didn’t have.
Eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted — and feeling worse every time I did.
It’s only looking back that I can admit something hard to say:
I chose all of it.
Not consciously at first. I didn’t wake up saying, “Let’s wreck my health and bank account today.” But it was still me, one choice at a time.
The truth is, I’ve always had an addictive personality. I get hooked fast — to habits, emotions, highs, comfort. But that’s not an excuse.
It just meant I had to be even more aware of what I was giving power to.
And over the years, through a lot of pain, failure, and honest reflection — I started to realise something else:
If I can choose to destroy myself, I can choose to build myself too.
One book that helped hammer this mindset home for me is The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. I’ve read it countless times, and every time it reminds me:
Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life.
That sentence alone has changed the way I respond to everything.
You can check the book out here (affiliate link — no extra cost to you, but it helps support the blog).
That’s when everything changed.
Not all at once. Not perfectly.
I’ve made mistakes, gone backwards, messed up more times than I can count.
But these days, when I do something — good or bad — I own it.
Because I made the choice. And the outcome is on me.
That mindset has been the biggest shift of all.
It’s not about never slipping — it’s about owning your actions and decisions.
When you realise that, you stop giving your power away.
I’m sharing this as someone who’s made more mistakes than I can count.
But I’ve also made different choices — better ones — and those have changed my life more than I ever thought possible.
If you’re feeling stuck, lost, or just fed up with your own patterns — start by owning your choices.
All of them.
Not to blame yourself, but to empower yourself. Because you can choose differently, starting today.