Pierre Dulaine: You can get what you want.
Rock: No, some people get what they want.
Pierre Dulaine: Those are the people who show up to get it.

Sometimes its not a matter of just showing up, but you have to take active steps toward making your destiny happen. Nobody is just going to give you that car, or job, or million dollars. You are going to have to get it yourself. If you are unhappy with your life, the only person you have to blame is yourself.

Yes, this might seem like a bunch of hippy-dippy mumbo jumbo, but the truth is, you can decide to just take it and float around through life on whatever wind is blowing, or you can take a stand and force a change.

So, have I convinced you yet? Well, the kind folks at lifehack.org posted an article entitled: How thousands have learned to transform their lives in which they talk about some simple ways you can start taking control over your life.

I’m at the point now that I’m re-examining my life, and what exactly I’m doing to make things happen for me. I’ve realized that for the last couple of years, I’ve been floating around like a jellyfish, just waiting for something to happen. Well, today, I’m going to commit myself to figuring out exactly what I want to accomplish over the next few months, and actually work toward making those things happen.

What I came to realize is that I don’t really know what would or wouldn’t make me happy. So I started to explore my personality a bit more, and try to figure out what that nagging feeling of “unsatisfaction” was. This led me to looking up my Zodiac sign. I’ve known for a very long time that since I was born at the end of May, that I’m a Gemini. I occasionally look at my horoscope, and say, “hmm.. thats cool maybe I’ll be a millionaire today.” And I’ve looked up what personality traits a Gemini is suppose to have… Yep, that fits me.

I’m a skeptic by nature, so I’ve never been a true believer in astrology for telling the future. A lot of people believe that its just hocus pocus, and that all horoscopes are vague and could apply to everyone. While this is true to some extent, when you are dealing with personalities, its a bit different. I’m not saying that in every case, a zodiac sign is the true accurate depiction of a person’s personality… it isn’t. Nobody can truly know everything there is to know about another. But in some cases, your zodiac sign can tell more about yourself than you might even realize.

If you doubt this, figure out what your Zodiac sign is, and look up the meaning…. its pretty accurate… but it could be applied to anyone, right? But try this. Look at any other sign, does it seem like it applies to you? Probably not. This is by no means imperical proof that signs can predict personalities and behavior, but its neat to have insight into your own personality, and sometimes you can use this information to make better decisions toward your own happiness.

For example, I’m a classic Gemini. I’m talkative, quick-witted, and curious. But at the same time, I can be moody, impatient, and quickly lose focus. I’m probably not going to be very happy working at a desk-job that requires me to be sitting in a cubicle and doing the same routine things for 8 hours a day. I probably would be much happier doing intellectual pursuits where I get to interact with people and be “chatty”. I had a boss call me “A.D.D. boy” because I couldn’t stay on one project all the time… I always had to jump around, sticking my nose into other projects. I tend to be quick at what I do, but I also get bored easily. This is a huge Gemini characteristic.

Knowing all this, I wanted to explore it even further. After some research, I found out that this is just my “sun sign” or the sign that was based on the position of the sun during that month of my birth… there are many other characteristics that can be found by charting the position of the various planets and moon at your given birth time and place. So I found this website that does natal or birth charts. You input your date of birth, the time, and place, and it will automatically chart the positions of the planets in relation to you. It gives a much more granular level to your personality.

Boy was it spot on. Not on everything, but for the most part was very accurate. Most Gemini’s are supposed to be outgoing and gregarious. But personally, I’m more shy and reserved. What I found out that I’m also a “Lunar Virgo,” which means that the moon at the time and place of my birth was in Virgo. “Lunar Virgos are often shy with new people. However, when they are comfortable, they are anything but shy.” Thats more like it.

By charting all the different positions, you get a clearer idea of your personality. Not only does it give you the “good” things about your personality, but also many of the “bad” things as well. Knowing all this, I can start making changes in my life that bring me closer to my true nature and personality. Once I can start doing that, I feel like my level of “unsatisfaction” will decrease, and I’ll be much happier.

If you’ve made it this far through this article, perhaps you might be interested in My Birth Chart.

On a side note… my digital scale broke over the weekend (no, not from excess weight) because I think the battery might be going dead. I am choosing to see this as a positive thing… now I won’t be obsessing about the pound or two fluctuations in my weight.

I tend to think of myself as more athletic than I probably am.

When I was younger, I was an avid soccer and tennis player. I was never really in tip-top shape, but I could perform. I could run a mile without getting out of breath, and short sprints wouldn’t kill me. I used to play 90 minutes of soccer without much problems.

Now I feel my legs getting tired after walking up 2 flights of stairs. Yes, I’m sure this has a lot to do with me being overweight and basically not exercising. And yes, I know that I could probably get back in shape by doing some workouts. But somewhere in the back of my mind, I still feel like I can play 90 minutes of soccer without any problems, even though logically, I know I can’t.

Do you have an overinflated sense of physical prowess? Doesn’t it suck to know that as you’ve gotten older, you’ve lost some of your abilities through lack of use?

But I sent out a few resume’s the next day, and was gainfully employed fairly quickly. Luckily I had some savings accumulated, so the transition was not as painful as it quite possibly could have been.

As a result of that, my diet was thrown out the window. I stopped tracking my food intake and have gained a few of the pounds I lost over the last few months. Now that I’ve started my new job, I am trying to get back to a regular schedule.