UK General Election in 2015. US Presidential Election in 2016. Elections come and go, politicians come and go, but in between the elections politics is not for us, right?
Wrong.
Now, if I say I'm not talking about 'politics,' but 'politics,' that may sound odd - let me explain..!
I don't mean the party political stuff, I don't mean political campaigns, and I'm not talking about any individual politician. That's because my point is that we are *all* politicians!
I'm going to repeat that. We are *all* politicians!
If we look at what the word 'politics' actually means, it's to do with influencing other people, positions of governance, organising control, distribution of power and resources, inter-relationships and persuasion, about bringing change.
Phew, that's a lot of concepts, but it's not that hard to see all of them apply when we think of party politics, the government or politicians is it? If we twist it though, we'll get to my point, which is to ask whether you think of these concepts when you apply them to *yourself?*
That connection may not come so easily, but it's a vital connection, because we do it all the time. We always have, and in fact if we stop and look around us, our circumstances are the result of how we've applied these concepts, or not, in our own lives.
The more aware we become of this fact, the more we can actively steer our futures rather being some sort of victim of circumstance, letting external politics of others lead the way.
The basic formula of self improvement and goal achievement can be broken down into 3 steps - define your goal, work out how to do it, then start taking action. Along with that basic formula, you have to throw in belief in the goal and yourself, and relationships with others, dealing with both those that will help you and those that are hindering you.
Once you believe your goal and start taking action, you are taking control of your future, governing your resources, influencing yourself and others. You'll be persuading others as you continue to persuade yourself, and you'll be bringing about change.
Sounds like the words I used when describing 'politics,' doesn't it?
I'm going to take the analogy a bit further, and ask what happens if you don't think you're a politician...
When people say they don't vote, it's normally justified by 'it won't make any difference,' or 'it's a waste of time.'
Those are lazy excuses in my view. If you think it's a waste of time, you leave space and opportunity for other who don't consider it a waste of time! Similarly, if you decide that it won't make any difference, all you do is leave the way free for those that *do* think it makes a difference!
That's true in the world of politics, and it's true just the same in your own life. The only way you can't make a difference is when you tell yourself you can't.
As soon as you tell yourself you can, and act on that belief, the politics of life will start to turn in your favour.
It might be slow at first, as political change often is, but like politics, once change builds up momentum, it can be impossible to stop.
So, don't pigeon hole 'politics' as something that you only think about every few years, and event then only relate to a tick in the box for others, think about it in your own life, all the time - seeing yourself as your own politician can bring transformation that will amaze you.
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