Are You Taking Complete Responsibility For Your Life?

Do you believe you are entitled to a better life? Do you also believe that somehow, someone, somewhere is responsible for ensuring you stay happy, have a great career, get to spend time with your family, follow your passions, hobbies and enjoy fulfilling relationships..

How real is this?

The truth is that only you are responsible for the quality of your life. You are responsible for your health, your happiness, your career growth, financial security, the quality of your relationships, the way you spend your time, your inner peace…

The day you realize this and act accordingly is the day you empower yourself to start moving forward. Remember everything you are experiencing now is based on choices you have made in the past. If you want better results, just start making better choices.

If you are waiting for things to somehow change, for the situation to get better on its own, you are likely to be disappointed. Take responsibility, take complete responsibility. Own your life and design it to reflect your dreams, aspirations and desires.

You can start taking complete responsibility by practicing these three important steps:

1. Stop blaming
You are conditioned from childhood to blame someone else for your shortcomings, for the not so pleasant situations. However blaming your parents, your teachers, colleagues, bosses, the government, weather, luck, stars, alignment of planets etc will get you nowhere. You must focus on the only thing in your control i.e yourself.

2. Stop giving excuses
Each time you give an excuse, you are missing an opportunity to grow. You are also creating a perception as being unprofessional. Most people give excuses because they have a fear of failure. However this very fear when faced will help you move out of your comfort zone and try something unfamiliar. A success there will do wonders to your self confidence and expand your horizon.

3. Stop complaining

The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it ~ Lou Holtz

Face it, nobody likes to be around someone who complains. Complaining drains you and others of their energy. Yes, there are times when all of us feel like letting out our frustrations. Talking about it is healthy, discussing it, trying to identify ways to overcome challenges is productive, it can open you up to new ideas and solutions. However constant complaining and whining makes you feel like a victim, disempowers you and keeps you stuck in the helplessness mode.

As you will agree, none of the above three serve you, they suck away your precious energy and make you unpopular with those around you. In my coaching work, each time a client begins to take complete responsibility, I notice them displaying higher energy levels, greater motivation and stronger will power.

Set a challenge to NOT blame, complain or give excuses for the next 30 days and watch what happens.

Here are seven incredible benefits you can experience by taking complete responsibility.

1. Joy of Freedom
As you start looking inward for the causes and solutions to address challenges in key areas of your life, you will experience a great sense of liberation, that feeling of being free, of not letting external judgements dictate how you think, act and live your life.

2. Sustained Motivation
We all need motivation to see through the rough patches and difficult phases of our lives. By seeking your inner resources, you will find a treasure trove of sustainable motivation that makes the journey towards a fulfilling life even more exciting and fun.

3. Greater Control
Knowing that you are in charge of your life, the choices you make, the decisions you take, the actions that follow will make you feel empowered and give you greater control of your life.

4. Personal Power
This is power in a positive and mature sense. It’s that great feeling of being aware that you are whole, complete, resourceful and have the capability to do, achieve, grow and succeed. This is the fuel that keeps you moving and helps you make progress towards your important goals.

5. Flow of Insights
Insights or those ‘aha’ moments come to you when you are relaxed, when your mind is free of fear and open to new ideas. Each day that you live by taking complete responsibility, you are strengthening your faith in your inner resources and your creativity to find solutions for life challenges. The more you seek it, the quicker they come.

6. Richer perspectives
You have grown up with a mental model of the world based on your life experiences till date. While they might have served you well thus far, thats not necessarily the only way to look at the world. The more perspectives you are able to open up to, the wiser you will be. Taking responsibility enables you to achieve more insights, helps you get fresh perspectives, newer experiences thereby widening your horizon and thinking.

7. Inner peace
As long as you are blaming, giving excuses and complaining, you are letting negative situations and people suck out your energies. This leads to confusion, inner conflict and a sense of imbalance. By taking complete responsibility you stop looking for evidences to support your story of blame, excuses and complaints. Your attention and energies are now on how you can move forward, what you can do, what the benefits are, how will you feel when you achieve everything you wish to thereby bringing you a sense of calm, harmony and inner peace.

Do you feel there are other benefits by taking complete responsibility for your life?

Please do share them

“I must do something” always solves more problems than “Something must be done.” ~Anonymous

Points to ponder
1. How would you feel if you stopped blaming, giving excuses and complaining?
2. What would happen if you took complete responsibility for your life?
3. How would you benefit?
4. What must you do to take complete responsibility?
5. How can you stay committed to taking complete responsibility?