Monday, June 18, 2012
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently about what it means to take responsibility for my thoughts and actions.
Until recently, I equated responsibility with being honest with myself. Now I realize that’s the definition of admission. I’ve also realized admission alone will get me nowhere.
For instance, one of my personality traits is that I’m a problem solver. This is beneficial in the sense that when confronted with an issue, I won’t rest until I’ve taken action to resolve it. On the flip side, I try to fix EVERYthing. I provide a listening ear and end up walking away from conversations trying to figure out a way to make everything better for everybody.
Needless to say, I’m stressed out - - a lot.
So you see, being honest and admitting I’m a problem solver - to a fault at times – is a step in the right direction, but it does nothing to reduce my stress level. But by owning the fact that I’m a problem solver, I can alter what that means in any given situation. If it’s mine, I can give it away and place the responsibility of resolution where it belongs or I can choose to take a problem on. Instead of letting behavior decide my strategy, I’m taking responsibility and making a conscious chose.
This happens, and I have nothing or no one to attribute my course of action to but me. Responsibility. Ownership. And hopefully a sense of relief.
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There is nothing wrong with knowing what one needs to do for themselves!
I agree @marian , and actually taking that step in choosing which decision is best for you is taking responsibility