Accepting Self-Responsibility
Unhappiness is a visitor to all our lives from time to time. While it is never fun, as an occasional visitor, unhappiness can make us grateful for our better days. But, when unhappiness moves in for good we become stuck. We may feel trapped, angry, guilty, or scared. Fortunately, we can accept responsibility for our unhappiness. What do you mean? Do you think I want to be unhappy!? Do you think I chose this? What did I do to deserve this? Before you become too upset, please read on a little further.
Responsibility is not about blame and fault. The dual mind likes to assign fault and blame as a way to judge between truth and fiction, right and wrong. But personal unhappiness is a complex human response to a vast array of inner and outer experiences. The common understanding of responsibility as a game of fault and blame does not apply. Responsibility is about the ability to respond.
Responsibility is about the ability to respond to affect a positive change. We are unable to change many of the factors that may have led to our unhappiness, but we do have control over how we respond to all of them. In this sense, we are responsible for our unhappiness.
One of the reasons we endure dis-ease in our lives is we feel powerless, like victims. When our body feels strange to us, it is because it has changed and we didn’t pay attention. Our minds grow small by walking the same paths and living by shorthand thinking – prejudices and clichés. Our souls become stuck in yesterday’s feelings because of the fears of today and tomorrow.
By accepting responsibility for ourselves and the unhappiness that we must endure from time to time, we can limit the power that this unhappiness will have over our lives. We can rediscover the joy of living.
Responsibility is not about blame and fault. The dual mind likes to assign fault and blame as a way to judge between truth and fiction, right and wrong. But personal unhappiness is a complex human response to a vast array of inner and outer experiences. The common understanding of responsibility as a game of fault and blame does not apply. Responsibility is about the ability to respond.
Responsibility is about the ability to respond to affect a positive change. We are unable to change many of the factors that may have led to our unhappiness, but we do have control over how we respond to all of them. In this sense, we are responsible for our unhappiness.
One of the reasons we endure dis-ease in our lives is we feel powerless, like victims. When our body feels strange to us, it is because it has changed and we didn’t pay attention. Our minds grow small by walking the same paths and living by shorthand thinking – prejudices and clichés. Our souls become stuck in yesterday’s feelings because of the fears of today and tomorrow.
By accepting responsibility for ourselves and the unhappiness that we must endure from time to time, we can limit the power that this unhappiness will have over our lives. We can rediscover the joy of living.
Tips
While I was in college, I would hang around the Sociology Department. (Marlene was a Sociology major.) One of her Professors would get quite irritated when he saw clumps of students hanging around the hallway and would command us “Go read a book or something so that you will have something to think about when you are fifty!”
Our three score and ten are not guaranteed, but more and more folks are living far longer than they ever imagined. It is very easy to slip into patterns of living and never even think about changing them until something happens and we find that our lives are too small. This is why it has become necessary to take care of ourselves throughout our lives. We need to nurture our body, mind, and soul. They need to serve us for a lifetime.
Keep growing! Keep learning! Feed your curiosity! Allow yourself to experience wonder and awe. Let yourself be surprised by people and events. Continue to build memories by travel. Stay connected. Make new friends. Build and renew long-time relationships. Most of all refuse to become stagnant. If it ain’t broke, break it! When staleness begins to creep in, refresh and renew yourself. Take responsibility for your own happiness and allow yourself to live life each and every day.
Our three score and ten are not guaranteed, but more and more folks are living far longer than they ever imagined. It is very easy to slip into patterns of living and never even think about changing them until something happens and we find that our lives are too small. This is why it has become necessary to take care of ourselves throughout our lives. We need to nurture our body, mind, and soul. They need to serve us for a lifetime.
Keep growing! Keep learning! Feed your curiosity! Allow yourself to experience wonder and awe. Let yourself be surprised by people and events. Continue to build memories by travel. Stay connected. Make new friends. Build and renew long-time relationships. Most of all refuse to become stagnant. If it ain’t broke, break it! When staleness begins to creep in, refresh and renew yourself. Take responsibility for your own happiness and allow yourself to live life each and every day.
RSS Feed