Own Your Space

Last weekend I was out with some friends, and in a moment of stark intoxication I had a brilliant thought. A motto of encouragement for life slipped into my mind. I’ve been using it at work, school, and anywhere else I feel the need for some extra motivation. I use it to boost my confidence in times it is shaken. In the past week, whenever I have been up against the brick wall called life I say, “Dan, own your space”.

The mantra came into being as we started our night with a few drinks. A friend of mine mentioned he was under pressure at work. He doesn’t get enough sleep, and it shows in his work ethic, so his boss thinks of him as a slacker. We told him to take responsibility for his actions, and own his job. We spent the remainder of the evening walking through the night discussing the finer points of life as our drunkenly skewed minds perceived it. Here and there I dropped comments about owning life. I started telling my friends to own their jokes when they said a bad one. “Own your insults,” I would say in the midst of friendly banter. Eventually, we stopped walking to play Hacky Sack in a park, and I told them to own their actions; go for that extra juggle. “Own your life!” is the slogan that eventually shot from my lips. That was it! The dam was broken, and this new idea flooded out. “You are the only ones occupying that space in this moment in time, so it is up to you to own it!” I announced to my friends, as we were ending our night. “No one else will, and no one else should. It is your space so you can’t let anyone tell you what to do, and because it is your space, it is your responsibility to make it worth while. If you don’t give everything you have in life, then you’re a waste of space. But, if you try hard; if you take responsibility for your actions; and if you face your fear, and overcome your problems, you will be an owner of your space.” I’ve been using this everywhere, and it has been working.

My brother has bought into the hype of my new slogan as well. However, when I look at him, I see that he has already been using it for some time. Maybe he was the inspiration for this idea of mine, or maybe I was just drunk. It is important to note that occasionally in times of inebriation the filter between what I think and say is turned off, and I tend to blurt out unique things. Still, my brother owns it! When he was a kid, my brother had a dream. He wanted to be a professional athlete. Now, in his late twenties, he is not a Beckham, a Crosby, or a Nash, but he is still an owner of his space. He is a lifelong player of soccer. I can tell that when he plays he is like an artist; he paints a picture on the field like a painter does on a canvas. He may not be famous, and he may not be a world class athlete, but when my brother plays, he does so with confidence. On the soccer field, he owns his space, and I can see that he transfers that to all other aspects of his life. I find that admirable.

You are the only one occupying that space at this moment in time, so it is up to you to own it.

Own your space!

Daniel Chambers