I recently read Reality-Based Leadership by Cy Wakeman, and the thing that stuck with me the most was the subject and title of the first chapter: “You are the source of your suffering, and that's the good news.”

The reason that is the good news is because it is empowering. If we are the source of our suffering—at work, at home, in life—then we are also the one with the power to change and/or eliminate our suffering. It is not up to our boss, our coworkers, our families or any other external person—it is up to us.

So, it is empowering, but maybe also daunting to figure out how to eliminate or change our suffering. Of course, Cy has an entire book based on how to go about doing this, but I think it boils down to a few basic things:

• Accountability: We can't start to fix the problem until we accept that we are the ones who can fix the problem.
• The stories we tell ourselves: We often let assumptions, opinions, emotions and imagination frame the situation instead of looking at the facts without drama.
• Change is a constant: There will always be change, which we can't control. What we can control is how we respond to and approach that change.

Finally, Cy writes, "Once we stop focusing on what's happening 'to' us and focus instead on what we can do within our current circumstances to succeed, we will get the results we're looking for." So, here's to our success!