The Utility of Personal Responsibility
Responsibility is power. Anything else is a waste of time.
I have a simple belief driving everything I do.
In short, I believe there is a pathway. I may not know how to get from here to there. I just know there is a path, and I believe I can find it.
I won’t be stopped by dead ends or obstacles. If one path is a dead end, I’ll try another. And another. And I’ll keep going until I find what I am looking for, but I will not be stopped.
Not everyone agrees with my sentiment, and that’s fine. I’m sometimes labeled as a rugged individualist and I receive a fair share of criticism for what people think I might be implying.
I won’t get drawn into prefabricated political arguments because it doesn’t accomplish anything. In fact, each faction probably won’t like what I have to say. The facts of my story are inconvenient to anyone who wants to draw a simple narrative.
Let me say something a lot of people aren’t going to like. That’s all a distraction.
You see, as soon as you get into the blame game for why you can’t succeed, you lose. You lose because it distracts you from accomplishing your goals.
Read that again. That path actually DERAILS you from getting what you want. It guarantees you won’t get there.
Having a convenient target gives you an excuse for not succeeding. Aha! See? That’s why. It’s those immigrants/poor people/rich people/capitalistic society/communists/my parents/my ex/my teacher who hates me…
But it also stops you from taking personal responsibility to solve your situation.
Do you see what I am saying here?
IT DOESN’T MATTER who you choose to blame. The blame game is an automatic path to failure.
I’m not saying the system isn’t broken. I’m not saying there aren’t unfair structures working against you.
I’m saying you can do one of two things about it at this point.
You can use this as justification for not trying.
You can find a solution.
You just have to ask yourself what you want more.
Unfortunately, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are some people who actually aren’t interested in succeeding.
I see this within many people who decide it’s easier to play the victim. For example, I’ve pissed off the Incel community, who operate on a false belief that the reason they are unable to succeed with members of the opposite sex is simply because they are unattractive, and there’s nothing they can do about it.
The truth is, the real reason most people haven’t achieved success is because they don’t yet know how. This is a solvable problem, but a person must put in the work to learn.
Most importantly, they have to take responsibility to do so.
That’s the big problem. To take responsibility means excuses no longer hold up. It means you can’t blame anyone else for not trying. It means you acknowledge a pathway exists, and you are committed to find it.
To not do so means you are more interested in wallowing in self pity.
It’s OK to not have the answers. It’s OK to say “I don’t know how to do this.” It’s what you do next that defines you.
I want to see everyone I know succeed, but when I recognize these patterns in people, I quietly exit. To argue with them is futile — they’re just going to move the goal posts. There’s nothing I can do for them, and their attitude and bad energy is toxic. They’ve become a liability, and I don’t want them bringing me or anyone else around me down.
I don’t have time or interest to engage with people who would rather heap blame than get their lives in order. I have no use for racist filled rants from dropouts living in trailer parks, blaming immigrants for their own poor life choices.
If that’s what revs your engine, do what you have to do.
The only thing I’m interested in doing is figuring out how to get where I need to go. And the only way to do that is to commit my energy to working toward a solution.
Your power comes from responsibility. When you take responsibility for your life, you hold the power. And when you hold the power, you control your destiny.
So claim your power. Then decide how you want to use it.