I am the captain of my soul”
I recall the very first time I heard those words. I was on a long flight from London to LA and I was watching the movie Invictus – the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team to help unite their country.
The words are from a poem of the same name ‘Invictus’ by the English poet Ernest William Henley which is referenced several times throughout the film. As I heard the words spoken, I was frozen in my seat. They were so profound. They struck like a thunderbolt from the sky.
But why? They are only words after all?
I believe the reason why they resonated so powerfully with me at the time is this… I believe passionately (and have done since my teenage years) – that I truly AM – “the master of my fate”. I’ve ‘owned’ that. I have always taken responsibility for the shape of my life and if something wasn’t working… I took note. I made plans. I made changes.
But “I am the captain of my soul”
I don’t know that I had ever even thought about this … not until that very moment. But I love the idea of it… “I am the captain of my soul” – just the words alone inspire me to be the best possible version of me. Also, I can see now that this is why I feel so ALIVE and yet so PEACEFUL when I invest in ME and devote time to activities that inspire my soul. Activities like travelling, photography, learning, growing & connecting. I think in more recent years, I have taken greater responsibility in this area – though I wonder if perhaps I am still not ‘owning’ it fully.
Something happened last week that made me realise that I was giving away some of my power in this area. But since the awareness, I have taken it back – reclaimed it.
It was the same incident and awareness that inspired the topic for this blog post.
And now my question for you.
Who is the master of YOUR fate?
Who is the captain of YOUR soul?
Consider this:
As human beings, our actions are constantly being influenced by two worlds: our internal world (influences include: our mind, our spirituality and our body) and our external world (influences include: the news, social media, music, family, friends, our home environment, etc).
The most effective way to gain control of your life is to work on your internal beliefs so that they dominate your experience in the external world.
Start to notice your thoughts and beliefs.
Identify those which may no longer be serving you – or which might actually be holding you back from living your best life.
Change the soundtrack to the movie that is your own life. If you constantly play a backing track entitled “I’m not good enough”, try something new. Surely you can see that this negative belief is not serving you?
How about “I’m strong, confident and beautiful” or “I’m growing in confidence every day”. What you think you become. So start to pay more attention to your thoughts and take control of what’s on your mind.
This work can take time but start with just one negative thought or limiting belief for now. Identify it, write it down, transform it, – and notice that once you transform the thought from negative to positive, how much influence it has on your external surroundings.
The way that you will lose control of your life and outcomes, is to let the external world dominate your internal world.
When you let your external world dominate your internal world, you behave in a particular way in order to be accepted by others. You fail to speak your truth for fear of judgement or criticism. You live your life by the standards defined by others and consequently, your fate becomes what others determine and not what you have determined is right for you.
You allow ‘others’ to become the Masters of Your Fate.
If you are the master of your fate, you are the responsible for everything you do and all that you achieve. Understand and acknowledge the results you’re getting today are the results of your efforts yesterday. If you are not happy with your results, change your actions. In order to change your actions – you must first change your thoughts.
Start now
Take charge
x Until next week, sending you love x
I would love to get to know you more, connect with me here.
