Personal Responsibility

Posted on Jul 2, 2019

If you are looking to take charge of your life, you need to realize that YOU are the starting point. In my last post, I discussed the value of self-awareness. Here, we’ll dive in to the importance of taking personal responsibility when it comes to your own happiness and growth.

 

Do you really know yourself?

Running through your routine on auto-pilot, without any time to reflect, is a major reason why we end up feeling detached and unseen.  That’s why I challenge you to take time to develop self-awareness by observing yourself.

When you observe your personal behaviors, you begin to notice patterns. You discover what makes you happy and what makes you miserable. Through focusing on the way you respond to certain situations, you’ll learn what energizes or completely drains you.

 

Of course, it is not through observation alone that we create a healthy and fulfilling life.

Action is eventually required, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

First, I want to share with you something that my first coach said that changed my life.  The first mindset shift she taught me was called “Be The CEO of Y-O-U.” This meant that I am responsible for every thought in my head.  Likewise, every action I take (or choose not to take), every word I say, is my responsibility.

This also means that if someone or some situation is pushing my buttons, I have to take responsibility for having the button in the first place.

Even though I was working with this coach specifically because I wanted to grow, I had a visceral reaction to this statement. Total overwhelm. “NO WAY!  That’s too much. It can’t all be on me.”

I bring this up because there is always resistance to growth. It’s human nature.  When it comes to self-awareness, we avoid looking at ourselves because we’re afraid that if we see something that we don’t like, we might have to do something about it.

Once I calmed down from this reaction, I was able to see that, of course, this is true. No one thinks my thoughts or says my words for me. No one forces me to take action.  No one is preventing me from growing.

 

Whatever you need to be happy and healthy you need to voice it and make time for it.

No one (your husband, kids, friends) can take responsibility for your well-being, especially if you don’t specifically voice your needs.

With the clarity that comes from self-awareness, and the acceptance of personal responsibility, we can take the right actions to create the life we really want.

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