Accepting Responsibility

The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That’s the day we truly grow up.

– John Maxwell, author and public speaker

I posted not too long ago about personal responsibility and how important I think it is for us to basically man up and accept the responsibility for what goes on in our lives.   I’ve been thinking about that  a lot lately – and I still believe it, but then, I found this quote that clarifies things a lot more for me.  We all have things that happen in our lives that are out of our control.  The economy is really bad right now and people are losing their jobs not because of their performance, but because the company may be downsizing or going out of business.

How are you supposed to accept personal responsibility for that?  You really can’t.  Just like you can’t accept personal responsibility for weather catastrophes and illnesses.  What you can, and SHOULD be accepting responsibility for is your attitude.  How do you deal with these setbacks that are out of your control?  It’s normal (and healthy) to have feelings of anger, resentment and hopelessness etc.  Acknowledge those feelings, they are your feelings and they are valid.  What you do next is what’s important.  Do you continue to wallow in the negative feelings, or do you find a way to move forward?  Don’t dwell, don’t wallow, find a way to move forward.  Craft that attitude of gratitude, look for the positives and find a way to move forward.  Open your eyes to the possibilities and who knows what you will find.  Remember you are what your attitude makes you!