Responsibility

If you have done much reading in the field of self-help or self-empowerment, you certainly have come across the topic of responsibility. Pretty much every great teacher has had something similar to say in regards to this difficult topic. You must accept total responsibility for creating your current circumstances before you can change your circumstances.

I agree and disagree. Most do sympathize with the fact that most of our mental program errors were created when we were too young to have any idea we were even being programmed. And most will go so far as to say that this erroneous programming itself was not even done on a conscious level by our parents, teachers, and whoever else may have influenced us in this negative way.

I’m not about to talk about blame other than to say it really doesn’t matter. If you could put the entire blame on any other person, this would not help you in the least in moving you closer to your goals of self-empowerment. If you put the entire blame on yourself, this would not help you in the least in moving you closer to your goals of self-empowerment. Either way, you are thinking blame. Blame itself is disempowering.

Thinking about the origin of your present programming is not in itself going to help you anyway. Let that go. It is only placing your focus on the past which is gone. Besides, focusing on the past will only attract more of the same energy. This is energy that you obviously want to move beyond.

You may not have imprisoned yourself through your past programming, but it is up to you to free yourself. If this does not sound fair, I’m sorry. But we are all one. We are all trying to find our way.

This idea of responsibility garnered my focus for some time as it seemed to come up in so much of the reading I do in the self-help/personal growth genre. I did finally make a connection with something else that really helped me to accept it, which I truly do believe is necessary to move along. Think about this one.

A child is dependent upon his or her parents for the food he or she eats. Often this selection is not the healthiest choice. In fact, it may even be detrimental to the long term health of the child. Clothing as well is picked out, usually by the mother. As the child grows, and eventually becomes an adult, he or she could continue making the same choices about food and clothing, but frequently this does not happen.

Adults commonly alter their diets to feel better or even heal themselves of some chronic problem they may have begun to develop even as a child. Choice of clothing changes as we move into different spheres, both social and professional. Seldom does anyone consider blame in either of these cases. It is simply a natural process of evolving in our ways.

If you are inclined seek avoidance of blame for your current situation, I would encourage you to think of your mindset in the same way as your diet or clothing style. Take the reins and make the change without giving the origin a thought.


I fully agree with the idea that we must take responsibility to improve our situation. I do believe there is a better way to look at your current situation, however. When a child is born into this world, she or he has absolutely no qualms about expressing her or his self completely openly.

We do learn at some point that we are to be more selective in what we express. This has both good and not-so-good ramifications. In itself, it is not a problem. You may stifle your expressions to make for smoother interactions with others. This is good. The not-so-good outcome is that without thinking, we may begin to suppress our awareness of what it is that we truly require to be happy individuals.

I find it quite common to ask someone what they want to do with their life, and have them answer, honestly, that they really don’t know for sure what they would like to do. This is sad. I believe it is a result of our suppressing our desires from an early age.

Dreaming, as in imagination, is another perfectly natural function that tends to be suppressed early in life. I believe the best one can do, if they feel the urge to regain control of their life, is to begin allowing that inner child to come out to play once in a while. We all have this part of us. It doesn’t really go away.

So play more. Explore new things. Begin to think of adventure. Learn something new everyday. When you do this, you will discover things about yourself that you have not lost. You have only forgotten.


To your journey,

Jeffrey Brandt




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