Take Responsibility

Personal responsibility is a characteristic lacking in many. Ever since the Garden of Eden, when Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent for their disobedience, humans have been playing the blame game. Rather than accept personal responsibility for their lives they would rather pass the buck to others for the place they find themselves.

The fact is the sooner you accept personal responsibility, the sooner you begin to excel in life. All high achievers have learned the value of accepting personal responsibility. They understand “If its to be, its up to me.”

You are the only person that can determine your future. It is your responsibility to be happy, to be proactive rather than reactive, to step out and do something about your situation in life.

I am responsible for the person I am today as well as the person I am becoming.
While there are many things that have an impact on who I am and who I become, ultimately if I am going to be a better person than I am right now, it’s up to me. As Robert Schuller says, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” Change will only happen in my life when I make the decision for it to. Regardless of how others try to influence me to be all I can be, it is my responsibility to do so.

I am responsible for my choices and my actions.
Flip Wilson made a fortune with, and popularized the saying, “The devil made me do it!” While that may be a funny line, it is far from the truth. In reality no one can make me do anything I don’t want to do. To blame others for where I am in life is simply to make excuses for my lack of making the right choices and doing the right things. I am where I am in life today as a result of my decisions and actions of yesterday.

I am responsible for my attitude.

Did you know attitudes like measles are evident to everyone around you? How you view life and the perspective you have of life is solely dependant on you and you alone. If you want to you can be an up person in a down world. I’ve heard people say when they have a bad attitude, “I guess I got up on the wrong side of the bed.” With the disposition they display most of us wish they had never gotten up! The good news however is you don’t have to have a bad attitude and be a pain in everyone’s neck. Recognize you are in control of your attitude, no one else. Choose to be more optimistic and pleasing in your relationships with others.

I am responsible for the attitude I bring to my work.

A lot of people bring their home problems with them to work. As a result of their personal frustrations, anger and disillusions of their home life, they are not as effective as they could be. I have found that people that get ahead in life have developed the knack for compartmentalizing their life. They have learned to focus on the task at hand and to give it their all. Determine to leave your home problems where they belong, at home. After all stewing and worrying all day about the problems you are facing will not change them at all. So make the decision to come to work with a good, positive, upbeat attitude.

I am responsible for my relationships.

As stated at the beginning of this chapter, ever since the Garden of Eden mankind has played the blame game. After all, it’s easier to blame others or circumstances for trouble in relationships, then it is to take a good hard look at ourselves and then admit that we aren’t perfect. My mother told me along time ago, “It takes two too tango.” In other words relationships are a two way street. If I am going to develop and maintain good relationships, whether it the family or at work, I am going to have to do my part to make them work. That means I may have to make some changes in how I treat others and how I expect to be treated. Usually if there is a breakdown in a relationship it is because someone failed act responsibly and do there part to make it work.

I am responsible for the quality of my communication.

Communication is the bedrock of success in all areas of life. Perhaps no other culprit is as destructive as a lack of communication. Communication involves more than just talking on your part. It involves listening, empathizing, and understanding what the other party is saying. While we must seek to be understood and to understand during the communication process, we must also be cognizant of how we say things. So what we say, and how we say it, are equally important. Our volume, tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions are all part of the communication process. I must seek to be kind, considerate and understanding of the person or persons I am communicating with.

I am responsible for my happiness.

Since I am in control of my life, I can be happy regardless of what’s going on in my life, if I choose too. As with many things, happiness is an attitude. As a Christian I can be happy because I have the joy of the Lord inside me. Happiness does not come from what I have or don’t have, it comes from knowing who I am, what my purpose in life is, and in doing what I was created to do.

I am responsible for my financial situation.

My financial condition is a direct result of my financial literacy, work habits and personal discipline. While there are times when bad things happen to good people and as a result they face a financial setback, for the most part people struggle financially because they don’t have a good grasp of how money works. They don’t understand the need for financial planning, setting financial goals, learning to invest, paying their bills on time, and saving for the future. If I want to become financially free, where I don’t work for money but instead money works for me, then I must seek to become financially literate.

I am responsible for my mistakes.

Any mistake I have ever made was of my own volition. I either did what I knew better than to do or didn’t know what to do in the first place. Even if I followed the advice of others or allowed them to pressure me to do something I wasn’t comfortable with, ultimately I am responsible for my actions. The sooner you recognize that you are responsible for the mistakes you’ve made in life the sooner you can do something to change the. Now let me say right here, don’t allow yourself to get bogged down in great sorrow for the mistakes you’ve made, and for goodness sakes, don’t hold a perpetual pity party because of them. Learn from them, let them go, forgive yourself and get on with your life.

I am responsible for my personal success.

No matter how much someone else may want to see you succeed in life, no matter how much they encourage and motivate you, no matter how much they try to help you, only you can make the decision to be successful. If I am going to be successful I am going to have to do the right things the right way in a consistent manner. I am going to have to set goals, make plans, work hard and not quit if I want to have success in life. Success belongs to everyone but not everyone will enjoy it because they aren’t willing to do what it takes to have it.