Home
>
Success
>
Taking Responsibility

Taking Responsibility

Everything you are or ever will be is completely up to you. Everything that has happened and is happening in your life is because of your behavior, words, and actions. You have the freedom of choice. Virtually every circumstance in your life so far, you have chosen out of your own free will. This means, that you are completely responsible for all your successes and failures. Your happiness and unhappiness. And everything in your present and future.

This realization is like a parachute jump: It's scary and exhilarating at the same time. Taking total responsibility for your life is one of the most important things you can ever do. Accepting complete responsibility for all your actions represents maturity in your life. When you accept complete responsibility for everything in your life, success, achievement, and self-actualization will follow. You can never accomplish anything of value in your life or have any real measure of happiness without first accepting complete responsibility for all your words, actions, and decisions.

Accepting that you are completely responsible for yourself and realizing that no one is coming to the rescue will mark the starting point of peak performance in your life. Once you accept total responsibility for every decision you make and every action you take, there is virtually nothing that you cannot do, have, and accomplish.

The acceptance of responsibility is so important, that it comes before goal setting. Until you accept total responsibility, you will not seriously set goals and make plans for their achievement. Without accepting complete responsibility, you are unconsciously leaving yourself a way out. This failure to be totally responsible is the equivalent of creating a mental escape hatch that enables you to avoid being accountable for success or failure.

Unfortunately, most people simply make excuses for their failures. They blame other people and things for what's happening in their life. Since everything we do in life is a matter of habit, when we get in the habit of making excuses for things that happen in our lives, we then get in the habit of evading responsibility at the same time. People who are not successful will often set a goal, and then at the same time create, and hold an excuse that they can use if they find out that their goal is too difficult or requires more self-discipline and persistence than they originally thought.

Underachievers will tend to blame other people or events for things in their lives that they don't like. The waiting rooms of psychologists and psychotherapists are full of people who are still blaming their parents or anyone else who has been part of their past or present life for all their shortcomings. They're still saying that someone or something is responsible for their failure to achieve happiness. They're still looking outside themselves to explain the parts of their lives they don't like. They've unwittingly gotten into the habit of making excuses and blaming for so long that they don't know how to do anything else.

There is a direct relationship between the amount of responsibility that you accept and the amount of control that you feel. The more responsibility you take, the more in control you are. There is also a relationship between the amount of responsibility you accept and the amount of freedom you feel. The more responsibility you take, the more freedom you have to make decisions, and to do the things you want to do. And if you put all of this together, you'll find that accepting responsibility is directly tied to, control, freedom, and happiness. The happiest people in the world are those who feel good about themselves. Feeling good about yourself is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility for every part of your life.

A person who is unwilling to completely accept responsibility for his or her life is subject to anger, hostility, fear, resentment, and doubt. Psychological studies have shown that negative emotions are closely associated with blame. On average, 99 percent of all our problems exist only because we we're able to blame someone or something for them. The instant we stop blaming, our negative emotions begin disappearing.

How do you break the habit of blaming? Use the Law of Substitution which says, your mind can only hold one thought at a time, positive or negative. You can substitute a positive thought for a negative thought whenever you choose. This means, you can override the tendency to blame and become angry simply by saying, firmly, "I am responsible!" You can't accept responsibility for a situation and be angry at the same time. You can't accept responsibility and be unhappy or upset. The acceptance of responsibility negates negative emotions and short-circuits the tendencies toward unhappiness.

The very act of accepting responsibility calms your mind and clarifies your vision. It soothes your emotions and enables you to think more positively and constructively. Accepting responsibility gives you insight into what you should do to resolve the situation you are in.

Very often, the problems people have are with other people. Problems in their close personal relationships, with their spouses, their children, their friends, and their coworkers. Think of the people in your life who cause you any stress or anxiety and ask yourself who is responsible. Are they responsible for being in your life, or are you responsible for having them in your life?

The Law of Attraction says that "you are a living magnet" and that you inevitably attract the people and circumstances into your life that harmonize with your dominant thoughts, especially those thoughts that you give strong emotion to. The people in your life are there because you've attracted them by the person you are, the thoughts you hold, and by the emotions you experience. If you're not happy with the relationships you're in, you're responsible. You've attracted them, and you're keeping them there.

If you've had a bad relationship, who got you there? If you weren't forced into the relationship and kept there against your will, then it's a matter of free will and free choice on your part. If you're not happy, it's up to you do something about it. If you're not happy with the situation, do something about it. If you're not willing to do something about it, then don't complain.

Are you happy with your job? If you're a business owner, are you happy with your business? Are you happy with the amount of money you're earning? Are you happy with the level of responsibility and your activities each day? If you're not, you need to accept that you're completely responsible for every aspect of your job and your career. Why? Because you chose it freely. You took the job or started the business. You assumed the responsibility and accepted the amount of compensation for your job. If you're not happy with any of the these situations in your life, for any reason, then it's up to you to do something different.

You're earning today exactly what you're worth, not a penny more and not a penny less. In life, we tend to get exactly what we deserve. If you're not satisfied with what you're getting, look around you at the people who are doing the kind of work you would like to do and earning the kind of money you would like to earn. Find out what they are doing differently from you. Once you find out what they are doing differently, accept complete responsibility for your situation and start applying the power of you mind and all your abilities. And then back them with willpower and self-discipline. Then get busy making the changes you need to make to create and enjoy the life you want.

One of your highest goals in life should be to develop your character. Character is composed of self-esteem, self-discipline, and the ability to delay gratification. Most importantly character is the willingness to accept full responsibility for your life and everything in it. The more you say to yourself, "I am responsible," in every situation, the stronger your character will become. And every part of your life will improve at the same time.

Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. A former ad agency executive and marketing consultant, Joe's work in personal development focuses on helping his clients identify hidden marketable assets that create windfall opportunities and profits, as well as sound personal happiness and peace.

Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com

Read more articles and newsletters at: joe@jlmandassociates.com

recurring cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

New phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

Taking Responsibility

Success