Laundry List Item #37: It is most important to run out of scapegoats.

When I get myself into a pickle, noticing that I am spending my time with people I don't want to spend it with, doing things I actually don't want to do, my first reaction is to think of who to blame; who put me in this situation?

And gradually it dawns on me that I am the one that created this situation, this life. I choose to keep living where I live, to do that work I do, to spend my days how I spend them. My family or friends or government do not lock me into this. I am not bound by anything other than what I choose to be bound by.

This humbling thought is also redemption. It means that I can have a say in my own destiny. 

Running out of scapegoats is freedom, because now I take responsibility for my own life, for how I spend each moment.