“I wish my results were different.”

We’ve all been there, in a spot where the results we’re experiencing don’t match the results we want. There’s a clear gap between where we are and where we want to be. Personally, professionally, or in our businesses, we all have that one thing.

Here’s the big question we all need to ask ourselves with some brutal honesty. 

Are we creating our results – or simply reacting to them?

When we’re reacting, we’re letting our circumstances dictate our results. We’re allowing external factors to control our path and doing little or nothing to change things. That’s fine when the results are close to or near what we want, but when those results aren’t aligned with what we desire, we have a problem. 

Creating our results, on the other hand, means taking intentional steps toward building what we want. It involves actively shaping our direction, not just responding to what happens around us. Instead of watching life happen, we’re showing up and doing the work to change our results until they align with what we want. We’re designing our life, creating it each day.

Want an example?

Meet two farmers, Ben and Jack. Both work their fields, but their approaches are very different.

Ben wakes each day and waits to see what the weather brings. If it rains, he complains about the mud. If it’s sunny, he complains about the heat. He only plants when conditions are perfect, and he spends his time reacting to whatever comes his way. Does he have success? Occasionally. Most of the time, though, Ben is left complaining about a harvest that doesn’t match his desires.

Jack, on the other hand, actively creates his own results. Instead of depending on the weather, he builds irrigation systems for dry days and drainage systems for stormy ones. He invests in new AI and autonomous technology to help him be more efficient and diversifies his crops each year. No matter what challenges come, Jack is prepared. He doesn’t just wait for good fortune. Instead, he’s creating opportunities for success through planning and hard work, and his results show. 

Year after year, Ben is left wondering what went wrong while Jack’s crops flourish. The difference? Jack isn’t just reacting to life’s twists and turns; he’s creating his results, shaping his future with purpose and intention.

One farmer lets life happen to him. The other controls what he can control.

There’s an important point in there. We can’t control every circumstance, that is true. Sometimes, things that lie outside of our control happen. For these two farmers, an example of that is the weather. 

Too often, though, we let circumstances like these become easy excuses, reacting to them and settling for whatever life hands us. The alternative involves controlling what we can and leaning into those areas, trying to offset all the things we can’t do anything about.   

It requires us to show up actively in our lives rather than letting life happen to us.

The Takeaway

Look around. Are you creating your life, or letting it create itself? You can’t control everything, but based on what you see, identify those things you can – and then take some action to design what you want.

…

Share this with someone who needs it today!

John

Ready for more?

Follow me here for each week’s insights. You can also listen in to my Grit Meets Growth podcast here or on your favorite podcast platforms, as well as on YouTube.