“The victim mindset dilutes the human potential. By not accepting personal responsibility for our circumstances, we greatly reduce our power to change them.” —Steve Maraboli
Taking full responsibility for your thoughts, words, and actions gives you the power to create the life you want to live.
Taking responsibility for yourself gives you freedom. You become aware of the true connection between your inner and outer world. You are the creator of your own destiny and there is no one else responsible for what your life becomes but you.
Taking full responsibility grants you the freedom and true awareness of your power as a creator.
So how do we take full responsibility?
1. Embrace Failure
Are you afraid of failure? If that’s the case, you’re not the only one. Fear of failure takes control of many people, and as a result, minimizes their potential to succeed in life.
The question is, can you succeed without failing? No, nobody has (unless we count mediocrity as success). The best way to learn is by failing. Failing makes you learn, and when you fail big, you learn big.
While many things in life are out of your control, failure and success go hand-in-hand, and success usually comes about as a result of past failures.
As Napoleon Hill has once said: “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”
2. Stop Blaming And Complaining
Stop blaming others around you for your misfortunes. Blaming keeps you prisoner of a victim mindset and robs you of changing your situation. When you stop blaming and accept full responsibility, you turn from victim to victor. And now you can look at the situation with a clear head and decide what to do about it.
Complaining is another form of playing the victim while acting as if you have no choice. It also shows that you focus on the things you lack, things going badly, things happening to you, instead of focusing on how to fix things and not waste any more precious time.
Take a step back and ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?”
3. Take Control Of Your Surroundings
Is there a place you often visit that encourages a negative habit? If yes, then stay away from it. Is there an abuser in your life or maybe a bad influence? Eliminate contact with them if possible. If not, try to minimize interactions with them. While you cannot fully control all of your surroundings, you can control as many as possible. When taking responsibility for your surroundings, the possibility of bad circumstances should go down at least a little, and maybe a lot!
4. Observe Yourself
Observe your thoughts, emotions, and sensations objectively.
Unfortunately, many people don’t do this as much as they should, which makes them reactive to external influences without understanding why.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Next time you feel that you’re becoming agitated or overwhelmed, mindfully observe any bothersome thoughts, feelings, or bodily sensations without engaging. Just observe them and let them pass.
Once you start practicing this on a regular basis, you’ll become aware of your triggers, and challenging situations will lose their control over you.
5. Set Your Goals And Work Actively To Achieve Them
Don’t just think about your goals, but actively work towards achieving them. Take that class you know will benefit you, work out more often, go out more to raise your chances of meeting a partner who could complete you and help you along the journey, take the steps necessary to get you closer to your dream job. Break your goals into smaller actions that you can tackle one at a time, without overwhelming yourself. One small step a day, a week, or a month will eventually take you where you want to be.
Do you have a personal story about the way your life changed after taking responsibility?
We’d love to hear it in the comment section below.
