Continued From Part 1 - What Is Responsibility?
Define Responsibility To Achieve Responsibility
- If you want something in life, you must do it yourself.
- You are not responsible for things beyond your control.
- The more responsibility you accept, the greater your self esteem will be.
To feel confident to live and be worthy of happiness, you need to experience a sense of control over your life.
However in order to experience that control, you must first recognize that you are 100% responsible for your actions and the obtainment of your goals.
How Do You Define Responsibility?
Let’s have a look at a few examples to help you understand exactly what being responsible for your life really means. But remember, these are just examples, and are not meant to provide an exhaustive definition of responsibility.
- I am responsible for the achievement of my wants and desires (goals).
- I am responsible for my choices and actions.
- I am responsible for my behavior with other people.
- I am responsible for how I prioritize my time.
- I am responsible for my personal happiness.
- I am responsible for raising my self esteem.
- I am responsible for the way my life is.
The “Observer Mentality”
As you can see, self responsibility involves having a proactive mindset. It means going out and actively making things happen.
However, a large majority of people tend to have the opposite mindset. Something what I like to call the “observer mentality”.
Rather than actively taking action, these people tend to wait for things to happen to them, or for someone else to do it for them. In other words, they react passively to life.
TV viewing plays a big role in developing the observer mentality. The reason for this is quite simple. By spending large amounts of time watching TV eventually you become trained to sit and observe things, rather than react to them.
A good example of this can be seen whenever there is an accident. Some people will immediately rush to scene, whilst others will stop, stare and do nothing. I know this from personal experience.
One time I was walking inside a shopping complex and an elderly man accidentally fell to the ground. Although I was some distance away and not in a position to provide immediate help, when I noticed several people just standing there looking at the man, I decided to go forward and help. Luckily by the time I got to him, some other people were already helping him up.
This just goes to show how people who take responsibility for their life go out and do things. Whilst those who lack responsibility just watch and sit on the sideline, expecting someone or something else to do it for them.
Are You Responsible For Absolutely Everything?
In saying that you need to take responsibility for your life and happiness, I am not suggesting that a person never suffers through accident, through the fault of others, or that a person is responsible for everything that may happen to them.
Some things you have control over, others you do not. If you hold yourself responsible for matters beyond your control, then ultimately you put your self esteem in jeopardy.
Similarly if you deny responsibility for matters that are within your control, again you will jeopardize your self esteem.
So true responsibility means knowing the difference between the things you can control, and the things you cannot.
It’s Obvious Who Is Responsible
It is quite easy to spot those who practice self responsibility, and those who do not. Self responsibility shows up as a proactive approach to work and life, whereas a lack of self responsibility shows up as an observer mentality.
If there is a problem, responsible people ask what they can do about it. They are not afraid to take action, because they realize that every action they do or do not take is significant, and has very real consequences in the world.
It’s Obvious Who Is Not Responsible
Conversely, people who lack responsibility often feel their actions do not have any significant effects, and so these people usually end up taking no action at all.
Rather than make their voice heard and their presence known, they sit in the background with a mentality that they are not worthy enough to be given the spotlight.
Unfortunately, unless they change, that is where they will stay for most of their lives. In the shadows, looking onwards at those in the spotlight.
The Responsibility Cycle
Self responsibility, and the proactive approach to life it entails, is an essential component in building, maintaining and strengthening your overall level of self esteem.
It is a self reinforcing cycle, whereby the more responsible you are, the greater your self esteem will become. This in turn increases your level of responsibility even more.
However the reverse is also true. If you lack responsibility and adopt the “observer mentality”, never taking action or making your voice heard, ultimately your self esteem will suffer as a result.
You Are Significant!
So remember, the actions you take in the world have very real and significant consequences. Not only for yourself, but also for other people.
You are not just another mindless body in this world, so stand up, take action and make your voice heard!
“No one is coming to save you, to make life right for you, or to solve your problems for you. If you don’t do something now, then nothing will ever change.”
Responsibility Sentence Completion Exercises
Below are some sentence stems about responsibility. Complete the end of each sentence to test how well you understand the meaning of responsibility.
If you need more detailed information on using sentence stems, see this article : Using Sentence Stems
Self responsibility to me means…
If I accepted responsibility for my own life, that would mean…
When I avoid responsibility…
If I accept more responsibility for my relationships…
I can become a more responsible person by…
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