My responsibility includes what I think, how I feel, what I say, and what I do.
We are not responsible FOR others. We each have our own lives to manage.
When we do not understand Reality #1, a couple of things can happen:
1) We can avoid responsibility for what we ARE meant to take responsibility for ...our thoughts, feelings, behavior, and the results we create for ourselves.
Those are always ours to own and take responsibility for.
Reality Tip: Careful, blame lives here. Sometimes, we like to shift responsibility to others and away from self. When we blame others or our circumstances for something that is our responsibility, we move ourselves into a victim position. This steals our success and keeps us from creating and living the life we desire.
2) We can take responsibility for things that are NOT ours to take responsibility for ...other people's thoughts, feelings, behavior, and the results they create for themselves.
Those are never ours to own or be responsible for.
Reality Tip: Careful, inappropriate control lives here. Sometimes, we like to take on the responsibilities of others; that’s control and it’s not ours to take. That includes trying to “make” other people happy. It also includes trying to create an outcome we prefer. Sounds innocent. It’s actually control. More on that in Reality #2.
Responsibility: What responsibility TO looks like
Being responsible TO others requires taking responsibility FOR myself first. I take responsibility for myself and decide how I will live my life in relationship with others.
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