I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and are ready to head into the New Year. One of the ways to set yourself up for greater success in 2014 is to consider whether or not you are playing the blame game. It’s not very popular in our society to talk about taking personal responsibility. It’s much easier and more popular to never take the blame. As a society we have made an art of blaming something or someone else for the short falls in our lives. We blame our environment, (both past and present) our parents (they didn’t change our diapers enough), our spouses, bosses and even our teachers.
Recently a news story of a young man who killed 4 people because he was DUI was given a pass on punishment because his lawyers argued that he has a disease of not taking personal responsibility.
When you take that attitude you will never be a success. In other words you must take responsibility for your life to be a success. The attitude on your Life Palette is your responsibility, you alone make the choices and a decision regarding your attitude and attitude is a key element in regards to living as the masterpiece God created you to be. “For we are each responsible for our own conduct.” (Gal. 6:5 NLT)
Take Control of Your Actions
The reality is that your choices determine a lot more in your life than just your circumstances. In fact, often you cannot control your circumstances. In chapter 6 of my book Life Palette I wrote a little about this regarding our relationships: “We didn’t choose our parents, our siblings, our co-workers, or the neighbor who moved in next door. Even if we had that privilege, with our limited knowledge of the future we’d probably still make wrong choices. Just take a look at couples who marry and later divorce. At one point, they couldn’t live without each other. They thought the other person added so much value to their life they wanted to spend the rest of their life with them. If we were comparing their relationship in those early stages to a painting, they would have described it as the vivid reds that gave vibrancy to their life, the beautiful yellows that illuminated every day like a summer sun. In the end, however, it turned gray and dark.”
That being said you can take control of your actions. As we enter into 2014 make it a part of your plan to take control of your actions and reactions this coming year. This attitude of personal responsibility will set you up for success in 2014 regardless of the circumstances you may or may not face.
Be A Chooser
You’ve more than likely heard that there are 3 kinds of people in life: the accusers, excusers and the choosers. The accusers are those who are always blaming everyone else for their difficulties and problems. One of the sayings that are a part of their language is “It’s not my fault.”
Then there are the excusers. These are the folks that always have a rationale for their failure. In sports it’s called the “losers limp”. A guy misses a pass and comes up off the field with a limp so that everyone will think “no wonder he missed it, he hurt himself.” The excusers always have a reason, and usually any excuse will do. The writer of Proverbs said “The lazy person is full of excuses…” (Pr. 22:13 NLT)
The third type of person is the chooser. The person who says: “I choose to assume responsibility for my life and attitude.” Knowing they cannot control every circumstance in their life they understand they can choose their attitude and reactions.
Make the decision today as you look ahead to 2014 that you are going to be a chooser. Prayerfully choose your direction, your actions and your reactions. As you do you will be in a much greater position for living your life successfully as the masterpiece God created you to be.
Next Steps For 2014 Responsibility:
Take personal responsibility right now, enter 2014 as a chooser. Share your decision with someone who you are willing to hold you accountable – your success is on the line.
