“If it is to be, it is up to me.”
A wise person that I know recently told me this phrase and it has stuck with me ever since. I have repeated these simple ten, two-letter words over and over in my head, inevitably applying them in some way to my life.
Upon doing so, I realized an unambiguous link between two things: this ten-word phrase and the infamous idea of settling.
We are constantly being told to never settle for less than we deserve. More often than not, however, we choose to settle. We choose to be complacent with mediocrity (the easy route) instead of challenging ourselves to achieve something better (the hard route). We create endless excuses to justify our complacency, often failing to admit that we, ourselves, are the main reason we choose to settle.
Here is when those ten, two-letter words come into play.
“If it is to be, it is up to me.” Plain and simple.
No one in your life is going to make what you want “to be” but yourself. YOU have to self-advocate and take full initiative, executing all of the necessary actions to ensure your "to be" ideas actually happen in your life. Often times, this requires you to challenge yourself, rather than simply sticking with the status quo. It is a common notion that most of us, however, cling to the idea of being comfortable with the status quo. We settle for this kind of comfortableness, thus rejecting any ideas of change and the unexpected. Embracing change is never an easy task but it is quintessential in order to get from where you are to where you want to be.
I have never been one to fully believe in the common acceptance/belief of “it was meant to be.” I have never been able to fathom how something was simply just meant to be, or maybe I just don’t understand how something could be "meant to be" without someone putting forth hard work and effort to make that happen. I think that is why I am so drawn to this ten-word phrase; it places an emphasis on the individual, signifying that they have to persevere and work hard in order to achieve what they want to happen. This simple yet influential phrase defies all reasons to merely settle for mediocrity by encouraging individuals to make their “if it is to be” moment(s) happen in their lives.
As one wise individual once told me, I am now telling you: “If it is to be, it is up to me.”
Ten, simple, two-letter words.
Do something with them.
