Don't Let Yourself Off The Hook!

Personal Responsibility

Lets just drink that concept in for a moment....what does it mean to you?  I think it would be safe to say that it means different things to different people.   However the general gist of the concept is "The ability to accept the consequences and rewards of one's actions.  The ownership of one's ideas and actions."

People who accept personal responsibility are less likely to give up easily, complete objectives thoroughly, and generally are considered to be the backbone of civilized society.  These people accept the challenges of innovation and reap the rewards of the risks associated with those same challenges.  These people are fully alive, and all you need to do is see the thousands of successful business and political folks as evidence.  Nearly all of them exhibit personal responsibility for their actions (with the exception of those in Hollywood or Network News, where good things happen to bad people all the time). 

The consequence of not accepting personal responsibility is akin to death.  Allowing yourself to get off the hook for your own actions compromises the very spirit that keeps your heart pumping.  And you regress.  You move into a childlike state of denial and acting out against those who exhibit personal responsibility.  People like this generally quit at the first sign of trouble, duplicitously align their actions with many opposing forces, and typically are frustrated with their inability to advance their cause.  Their whole life could change in an instant if they simply had the inclination to own what they create (in any way). 

This self-perpetuating spiral is a strong drug.  The ability to compromise one's spirit affords a malaise that holds people in it's grip for their entire life in some cases.  Their only hope is the very people they rail against.  Those who accept the responsibility to bring them back to reality; back to a life in which every breath is a reaffirmation of their ability to move forward and advance themselves as human beings.  Because in the end, thats all we have.  The ability to connect and expand one's thoughts and actions for posterity.