Cause and effect is something some of us may remember from our science days in school.
These days, it seems to be talked about a lot in the personal development arena.
So what does it mean, and which side of the equation are you on? In the context of personal development, the cause and effect equation can be looked on in the following way "Are you the cause of what happens in your life, or are you the result of the things that happen to you?" The Effect Side People that are on the effect side, tend to have excuses for everything.
"I would have been successful, but my husband was holding me back" or "I'd have more money if I didn't have to pay so many taxes".
The excuses may seem real and valid, but the reality is they are limiting us from reaching our full potential.
The Cause Side This side of the equation equals empowerment.
On this side, we realise that we are responsible for every result in our life, even if it seems to be out of our control.
We are all on the effect side of the equation at times.
  The key is in being aware of which side we are on, and moving ourselves to the cause side, thereby gaining empowerment.
The best way to gain empowerment is to concentrate on one result we do not think we created.
Ask yourself:

• How did I create this either through my actions or non actions?
• What do I want to create instead?

It may take some time to figure out how we created a given result.
Just keep asking yourself, and it should come to you in time.
Don't beat yourself up over things when you are working on this.
Just concentrate on gaining empowerment, and you are on the right track.