Answer to Question #298643 in Psychology for bullet

Question

Reflect on these questions. What can you do at this stage of your life? How can you be responsible in your life? The following prompts can guide you.

I learned that I can ….

With the abilities I have, I will be responsible for ….

To improve myself, I realized that I should develop

Answer 1

Life doesn’t have to be something that happens to us but something we shape and control. With the influx of events that are entirely out of our control, there are many circumstances with which we do have a say in. When experiencing hardships, one may be inclined to feel discouraged and helpless. However, it’s important to remember that you can take control of your life by taking responsibility. Although we cannot control everything in life that happens to us and the ones we care for, we can maintain how we respond.

A lack of responsibility for your life may show up in the following ways: pessimistic thinking, a victimized mentality, frequent arguments, indecision, stagnancy, and codependency. When we become responsible for our lives, we notice more things going in our favor. If you want to create a better quality of life, filled with peace and joy, then you should be mindful of how you approach the way you live your life.

 

 Ways to Take Responsibility for Your Life

1. Take Responsibility to Prioritize Yourself

To take control of your life, you first have to feel worthy of a good life to make better decisions. Some people avoid taking responsibility for their lives because they have self-limiting beliefs. Thus, they may feel as though they don’t deserve better. Remember that it’s okay to be selfish sometimes. You can’t give love and support to others if you aren’t providing it for yourself. Prioritize yourself by practicing self-care and self-love activities. In loving yourself, you improve your confidence and understand that you have the final say in how you want your life to go. Self-love and self-care activities include: a five-minute meditation, gardening, journaling, taking a hot bath, pampering yourself, and repeating positive daily affirmations.

2. Stop Playing the Blame Game

Although convenient, it’s a massive form of self-sabotage when we play the blame game. It’s usually relatively easy to point the finger and cast judgment towards others instead of looking at our actions. When we are hyper-focused on other people’s mistakes, we often miss learning many important lessons. People play the blame game for many reasons. You may be defensive when the light is shined on your wrongdoings. This can lead to you avoiding accountability which typically worsens the problem.

3. Make Time for Self-Reflection

To take responsibility for your thoughts and actions, you need to become aware. Self-reflection allows you to develop more self-awareness. When you are mindful of your feelings, thoughts, and actions, you understand the patterns and logic behind the things that you do. With this information in mind, you can take stock of negative habits and replace them with good habits instead. To self-reflect, you should write your feelings and thoughts down in a mindfulness journal. As time passes, you can reread your journal entries and gain deeper insight into how you felt at the time, taking note of any patterns you may notice.

4. Take Accountability

Being responsible entails taking accountability. Some people love receiving praise but find difficulty in accepting responsibility when things don’t quite pan out. When you avoid taking blame or admitting that you were wrong, you don’t grow. Pride is a primary reason why some people have trouble taking accountability. However, this is usually to their detriment, leaving them to continue repeating the same mistakes over and over again. When we accept responsibility, we understand our part in a given situation. Much of how we are treated is dependent on how we treat ourselves

5. Don’t Internalize Judgment

Everyone has an opinion on something. However, you shouldn’t internalize other people’s judgments towards you. We are all unique in our way, having our perspectives on success and happiness. Though many of our loved ones have good intentions, it’s not rare for them to project their wishes onto us. For example, some parents may want their child to select a specific major, occupation, or even partner. You can’t live your life to appease someone else. You are responsible for living your own life.

6. Practice Compassion Towards Yourself

Taking responsibility can be difficult because you understand that you control the direction you want your life to go. Upon coming to this realization, one can be a bit hard on themselves. Many of us are indeed our worst critics. When we judge ourselves harshly, we throw off our inner equilibrium. 

7. Be Mindful of Excuses

A common trait of irresponsible people is that they make or find an array of excuses. An irresponsible person who wants to eat healthier may say that they can’t because they don’t have time. However, if they are to be responsible, accountable, and honest, they would be able to sit down and figure out a way to make time. We can find many reasons not to make life changes. However, to allow these reasons to influence you not to make any change is when that reason becomes an excuse. 

9. Eradicate Negative Self-Talk

To take responsibility, eradicate negative self-talk. Negative self-talk can come from childhood trauma inflicted by abuse within the household or bullying at school. These negative, self-limiting beliefs we have of ourselves usually originate from the projections and judgments other people throw at us.