Who do you blame for your mistakes?

One of the easier positions to assume in life is that of complete ignorance and disregard for responsibility of any sort. Hence it becomes sort of a task to be expected to take one up. Responsibility is an offshoot of our actions, whether direct or indirect. 

Taking or accepting responsibility for your action has two parts. One is personal responsibility - which taking ownership of your own behavior and the consequences of that behavior. This may cause you to lose respect and regard among others, but you will agree it takes a heavy load off your shoulders. While we may seem to want to remain quiet about an action or inaction taken, and allow someone else take the fall for it, it continues to eat us up in the long run, and our minds never really remain at peace, until we take ownership of our short - comings.

The second aspect of accepting responsibility is indirect responsibility. It involves thinking less of yourself and taking action to help people or situations around you that call for assistance. While this may not rise to the level of personal responsibility, it does speak a lot about your character and the type of person you are.

Most respondents on the episode of Sharing Life Issues, where this was discussed, spoke more of cases of unwanted pregnancies from girlfriends. Sadly, this is a regular occurrence, where either the guy absconds and vehemently denies ownership of the pregnancy, or the girl has multiple partners, and fails to pin - point who the actual father might be. There now exists an apparent confusion, which gravely spurs one or both partners to resort to abortion or a life of suffering and pain.

Let me say it this one time; I do not support abortion. If you cannot hold yourself from sexual relations before marriage, you should try to avoid those occasions that will predispose you to such vices. A child is a blessing from God, and though we were given free will as humans, abortion or taking the life of an unborn child is a mortal sin, and we bear the consequences of such actions.

We all make mistakes and poor choices. Same goes for when we fail to act when we know we should. There are times when we look the other way, when we know the right thing to do is to take helpful action. But guess what? You will not be the first or the last one to make mistakes, or bad choices.

The real difference between your beautiful self and an irresponsible person is your ability to effectively manage your life when the opportunity presents itself to make a good or bad choice.

Keep in mind, that when you blame others for your mistakes, you give up your power to change.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said: "We shape our lives and we shape ourselves. 

                                                 The process never ends until we die. 

                             And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility" 

What was that single experience in your past, where you failed to take responsibility for your actions?