Take responsibility for YOUR financial health. All aspects of it: expenses, income, savings, retirement, investing, pocket change, the works.

This is a simple idea with potentially profound implications. Yes, it may be a bit cliché, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t true. Everyone would like to improve their life in some way – financially, mentally, physically, emotionally, or a huge variety of others – but nobody can until they accept that, fundamentally, they are responsible for what will happen.

The first step to take is to do just that: assume full responsibility for your financial health. Regardless of your situation, you can’t dwell on the past. It doesn’t matter if you got hit by a disaster, laid off, if a business deal went south, or if you think weren’t positioned right from the start. As long as you focus on the problems you perceive, you will be unable to move forward in your financial life.

Forgive everyone for all the bad things they have done to you. Let go of what has happened to you before. Stop thinking about the negatives and the past events that have placed you into whatever your current situation is.. Right now – don’t put this off, saying "Oh, that’s a good thought, I’ll consider it." And there should be no half measures, even if you share finances. Assume 100% of the responsibility for your physical and financial health or you won’t be able to improve your situation. Above all else you must hold yourself personally responsible.

This is now going to let you take power over your financial health. If you want to change your situation for the better, you must have that power, plain and simple. Assuming full responsibility means you have no excuses when you fall off the wagon, no exemptions for slips, moments of weakness, and no one to pass the blame to when you aren’t as responsible as you want to be.

Without 100% responsibility you are utterly powerless. You’ll find ways to blame the world, your significant other, the economy, or something else. If you want things to change, you have to step into your power fully and completely. And you can’t do that if you remain in denial of even a smidgen of your responsibility. Now, I don’t mean that you need to blame yourself every time you slip even the slightest bit or something goes wrong. Not all circumstances are within your control. But you do always have the ability to respond to changes in your situation, so remember that!

Accepting responsibility for your own finances gives you the power to change your financial health for the better. It must be your own force of will that does so, but knowing that it’s on you makes all the difference in the world. Use your creativity and abilities to make the best of it!