Struggling to Take Responsibility for Your Actions?

By Suzie Doscher  

Taking responsibility for your decisions and consequent actions is one of the points raised in my article Personal Power - What Does That Mean?  Every decision you make has a consequence. When deciding to take action, this action was the result of the decision you made. Responsibility and decision go hand in hand. When results do not work out as expected the natural tendency is to find someone else to blame. Playing the blame game avoids responsibility.

Not taking responsibility for your behavior weakens your personal power. Making excuses or blaming others for a negative outcome, results in a character trait which is common in those who fail. This relates to life, career, health and happiness. If something goes wrong it is time to think about what or how you could have handled it differently, so you can learn from it.

Owning your choices, maintaining your personal power, is part of standing on your own. In accepting responsibility, you are accepting a willingness to develop your character. The stronger your character, the better your life will become. Not always easy. The following are a few questions that can help along the way. 

1. What did I do or not do to help create this situation I now find myself in? 
2. What can I learn from what just happened? 
3. How could I have handled this better? 
   
4. What am I assuming? 
   
5. What was I hoping to achieve? What specific result was I looking for? 
   
6. What was I trying to avoid by attempting to blame someone else for this outcome? 
   
7. What will I gain if I change my behavior? 
   
8. What, if anything, will I lose if I change this behavior? 
   

By taking responsibility for your decisions, you are increasing your power. 

In Other Words "Man must cease attributing his problems to his environment, and learn again to exercise his will - his personal responsibility." Albert Einstein.