In the 27 years that I have been alive; I have been struggling to comprehend exactly what the above quote meant. However, I stopped wondering the day I learned about the POWER of these two words; "I AM". 

As a child, in the hope of exonerating yourself from getting a beating from our elders, we grew up always blaming each other when we did something we were not supposed to do. And it was not long before I realised that by so doing, I was creating a dangerous pattern for myself of always shifting the blame to someone else instead of taking responsibility for my actions and life. So one day my little brother and I were playing outside at my granny's place, throwing stones at each other when he accidentally broke the window pane. Tell you what; if I didn't wet my pants that day, thinking about how painfully my grandmother is going to pinch the inside of our thighs, I’ll never do in my life. 

So about half an hour later, my grandmother arrived from work and, oh boy, did she not scream at the top of her lungs when she saw that broken window pane. Close to tears, my little brother couldn't utter a word, and as per the norm she was patiently waiting for us to start blaming each other... but it was at that moment that I manned up and said "I AM responsible granny". And to our surprise, she didn't lay her hand on me but rather commended me for taking responsibility for that said wrong-doing. And you see; when I said I AM responsible; I was not referring to the actual breaking of the window pane but rather the fact that I AM responsible for disciplining my little brother and leading him into the righteous path and I failed to do that, which in turn resulted in the said damage. 

And it was at that moment that I realised that “I AM” are the most powerful words EVER in life because every single thing you say after those words, shapes up the rest of your life. If you wake up every morning and say to yourself "I AM too lazy to wake up", guess what, that's exactly what's going to happen! You’re going to be lazy to wake up in the morning and you’re going to end up fancily comforting yourself by saying "I'm not a morning person". That time people are getting up, smelling the coffee and making things happen. Wake up in the morning and say to yourself "I AM a go-getter" and then wake up and go get whatever it is that you desire! The more you keep on telling yourself that "I AM ugly" the more you’re going to feel ugly, no matter how good you look, so much so that you will even end up believing a monkey when it tells you "you are ugly". The more you keep on telling yourself that "I AM not able to do this", the harder it is going to be for you to do it even before you attempt to do it. And it was at this moment that I comprehended exactly what the quote about dynamite meant; two words... I AM; is all that it took.

Some people will forever search the world for something that they will never ever find simply because they don't understand the power of these words; I AM. They wake up every morning, searching for happiness in the good morning text from their partner or crush; getting into relationships in the hope of being happy; smoking a joint and getting themselves high and some search for it in alcohol and some have sadly became alcoholics... But how can you search and hope to ever find in the world something that already exists inside of you and not out there? 

You will never find happiness and joy in life until you take responsibility for your own life and say "I AM responsible for my own happiness, joy, and well being". You can date the best loving partner ever, but that person will never ever make you happy until you find happiness inside of yourself for that person to simply add unto the happiness that already exists inside of you. For as long as you always keen on blaming the system and people for being where you are right now instead of rising up and saying "I AM responsible for my success, riches and greatness; you will forever remain poor". 

Tell you what; if you wake up every morning and keep on doing what you have always done, you will forever keep on being where you have always been. Stop waking up every morning and expect people to make things happen for you; you alone are solely responsible for your life. Some people are today victims of their own circumstances simply because they haven't realized the power of saying "I AM responsible for my life; thus I am not going to die in the poverty and dire circumstances I was born in; but against all odds; I am going to rise high above my circumstances and victoriously make it to the other side because I AM a victor and not a victim."

And after all; it was Marianne Williamson who said “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

The world and everyone in it owes you absolutely NOTHING. You are responsible for every single thing in and about your life. Whatever it is that you desire in life, you have to demand it from the person you see in the mirror. Stop placing your life in other people's hands and living it from there...because if you do; rest assured you will get hurt. The expectation of you hoping that someone will do this and that, is only going to cause you a heartbreaking disappointment when they don't do as you expected. Stop seeking permission from people to live your life. Stop seeking validation for who and what you are from people who do so little for you. Wake up every morning; look inside the mirror and tell that person "I am strong! Great! Beautiful! Handsome! Sexy! Gorgeous! Amazing! The best! Intelligent! Capable! Able! Blessed!"...and when you’re done saying all these words; GO OUT THERE IN THE WORLD AND BE!

Darkness exists so that your light can shine bright; and like Zola said in my favorite song called Stars: "I AM gonna shine in the dark like stars at night" In the midst of that black cloud hanging over your head, the looming darkness, I want you to double dare yourself and say "I AM going to shine in the dark like stars at night! I AM going to go out there and make the best out of what I have instead of making excuses."

I AM... the most powerful words ever!

Make the right choice and choose to say "I AM...”

Happy CHOOSEDAY!

#NoAlarmClockNeededMyChoiceWakesMeUp

Fannie Zim is a practicing and Admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.