Taking Responsibility – 7 Ways To Regain Full Control Of Life
Have an issue taking responsibility? Have no fear! Here are 7 ways to finally take full control of your life again.
Let’s chat about taking responsibility.
Are you ready to accept responsibility for your life and regain some control? If so, this is the post for you.
Now here’s the thing: there’s a comfort that comes from always having an excuse for your challenges in life.
Whether you blame your issues on poor parenting, a boss that hates you or the universe in general, it’s soothing to have an excuse.
I’m assuming it’s because having this excuse frees you from taking action. It gives you a reason to stay stuck, twiddle your thumbs and not have to do anything to move forward.
However, you need to know that every excuse you make has a cost.
By putting the blame and responsibility on things outside yourself, you ultimately take away your power to change your situation.
Is everything your fault? Of course it isn’t.
But it is your responsibility to take care of your own life.
It is your responsibility to take ownership of your own power.
You control your thoughts.
You control your feelings.
You control your actions.
What you CAN’T control is others.
And if you don’t fix it, who will?
Even if you had horrible parents, there’s nothing they can do about it now.
When you choose instead to see everything in your life as your responsibility, that’s when you will start to finally make some changes.
There is so much satisfaction and confidence that comes from knowing that you alone are responsible for your own life.
Here’s how you can accept responsibility for your current situation and finally take control of your life:
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
TIP # 1 – Be aware of how you’ve contributed to your own challenges.
Maybe you made some poor decisions.
Maybe you failed to take action.
Take a look at the least satisfying parts of your life and determine how you created or contributed to these issues.
Be sure to also look at the great parts of your life and give yourself some credit, too.
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
TIP # 2 – Build your self-esteem.
The more self-esteem you possess, the easier it is to deal with life’s challenges.
If you’ve been avoiding responsibility, then there’s a chance that your self-esteem has been suffering.
Taking responsibility builds self-esteem.
They go hand-in-hand.
- Remember all the wonderful things you’ve accomplished in the past. Now is the time to take ownership of those things. Imagine how great you’ll feel when you turn your life around.
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
TIP # 3 – Remember that not everything is within your power to change.
FYI: you can only control your thoughts, your feelings and your actions.
You won’t be able to control anyone else.
You can’t make your boss like you.
You can’t make your spouse stop drinking.
You can’t make your friends nicer.
You can’t make your mom change her personality.
But here is what you can do.
You can find another job.
You can ask your spouse to seek help about their drinking and choose to leave if they don’t comply.
You can spend less time with your frenemies and accept your mom for who she is, flaws and all.
In the end, you can only control yourself.
Avoid worrying about the things that are outside your control.
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
TIP # 4 – Take responsibility for the little things.
Some of us are so focused on the big things which go wrong that we forget to pay attention to the little things that are important, too.
In fact, not taking care of the little things often leads to the bigger issues.
Therefore it’s important to take responsibility for and ownership of the everyday tasks that you face on a regular basis.
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
TIP # 5 – Be the best version of yourself.
Hold yourself to a higher standard than anyone else would ever demand of you.
This is the ultimate way to take control, because it means you are accepting the highest level of responsibility for yourself.
Being the best version of yourself means doing what needs to be done whether you feel like it or not.
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
TIP # 6 – Avoid blaming yourself.
Taking responsibility and taking the blame are two different things.
Just because you are responsible for something doesn’t mean you are to blame.
Blaming implies that someone is at fault or in the wrong.
But what if that isn’t the case at all?
What if nothing went wrong…that it played out in the exact way that it was supposed to play out?
Maybe no one is at fault.
Maybe it was instead a learning lesson.
A mistake that you and others can learn from.
Maybe there’s no reason to point fingers at anyone, including yourself.
When you do what needs to be done, sometimes you will fall down and this is normal.
You’re solving the problem, regardless of the cause.
Blaming yourself makes you less effective.
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
TIP # 7 – Expect to be uncomfortable.
Taking responsibility is the opposite of avoiding responsibility.
So ask yourself now: why did you avoid responsibility in the past?
Is it because it’s more comfortable than being responsible?
FYI: With responsibility comes discomfort.
- Take comfort in the fact that your discomfort will provide you with significant rewards.
- Do you think that ultra-successful people deal with more or less discomfort than the average person?
- (Hint: the answer is not less. There’s definitely more discomfort the more responsibility you have!)
It’s natural to want to avoid responsibility whenever possible.
But I challenge you to learn to take it on with confidence.
Responsibility is accepting that you are the cause and the solution of the matter.
Taking responsibility can mean less work down the road because you are more confident in your abilities.
It means you take initiative for yourself and stop blaming your circumstances on what you are able to change.
Handing challenges today ensures that they don’t grow into even bigger challenges later.
Your attention please: Failing to take responsibility comes with a heavy cost.
No one is coming to save you.
This life of yours is 100% your responsibility.
Don’t feel bad for making decisions that upset other people.
You are not responsible for their happiness.
You are responsible for your own.
When you take responsibility, you will embrace the ability to change the course of your life.
If you don’t there’s a chance you may erode your own sense of self-confidence and respect because you failed to take the control that is so important to your success!
If you keep blaming something or someone else for your problems, you will never learn why problems keep coming your way.
If you really want to do something, you will find a way.
If you don’t, you will find an excuse.
You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of. Jim Rohn
Self-responsibility is the core quality of the fully mature, fully functioning, self-actualizing individual. Brian Tracy
If it’s never our fault, we can’t take responsibility for it. If we can’t take responsibility for it, we’ll always be its victim. Richard Bach
It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities. Josiah Stamp
If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month. Theodore Roosevelt
The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny. Albert Ellis
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.