Responsibility Revolution

Because each one shall bear his own load. – Paul (the apostle)

Children do not have a sense of responsibility. They do not wake up in the morning thinking, “How will this day go and what will I do to achieve my goals?” They live carefree lives. Their basic design tells them that they should, and indeed need to, depend on someone else to do whatever it is they should do. Their feeding is handled, clothing is covered, and health isn’t a concern. Why worry when someone else will worry for you?

This is all well and good – even cute – as long as it is done by children. A problem exists when people old enough to bear their responsibilities depend on someone other than themselves for life’s necessities. A lot of young adults feel they should still depend on their parents or guardians to survive. This is, in part, not the fault of these young adults. The problem begins when parents in a bid to give a better standard of life for their wards cripple their wards’ responsibility muscle. A parent must know when to withdraw help and leave their wards to live their own lives. It is at this point that the young folk will experience a responsibility revolution.

To develop in personal responsibility you must realize that you have a life to live. Time is passing you by; wake up and live. You are responsible for your own life. Your parents are not, your friends are not, and God is not! You and only you are responsible for the outcome of your life. Your family, friends, and God will help you but that is where it ends. The buck stops with you. Whatever decisions you make are yours and yours alone.

Second, if you would have a responsibility revolution, you must learn to fail. This is because responsibility is an “On the job” activity. I motivate my students not to be afraid of failing. I tell them that they cannot succeed if they cannot ever fail in the training field. Learning to become a success is like learning to ride a bicycle. One universal denominator is that you will fall off the bicycle. But, (if you eventually learned to ride) you stood up, picked up the bicycle and tried again. You repeated this cycle so many times that you at this moment can’t say exactly at which point you learned to ride. The same principle applies to success.