12 Reflections on Personal Responsibility

Responsibility means being accountable for what we think, say, and do. Personal responsibility involves working on our own character and skill development rather than blaming others for situations and circumstances. It means choosing to design a life that honors our values and purpose.

Here are twelve reflections on personal responsibility:

1. Personal responsibility begins from the inside and moves outward. We must begin by taking responsibility for our thoughts, choices, and reactions. Then we can be responsible for the circumstances we create in our world.

2. We have the divine gift of free will. We make conscious choices as spiritual living in a physical world. Conscious choice is a gift that carries great responsibility.

3. Every choice can benefit humanity or harm it. Even avoiding choices is a choice, and each choice will have consequences.

4. When you think something or someone else is responsible for your problems and their solutions, that exact thought is the first problem to solve.

5. People waste precious years while believing that there will be more time tomorrow than there is today. Today is the perfect day to accept and develop our gifts and talents.

6. A great philosophy of responsibility: When things are working, I am responsible... and when they need fixing, I am responsible.

7. Only our choices and actions today will bring the rainbow's end with any gold it might contain.

8. The richest blessings follow those who follow the rules and honor the universal laws for abundant living: laws for wellness, success, relationships, prosperity, spirituality, and service to others.

9. When you follow the rules, life works. If you think you ever really get by with breaking the rules, you are only fooling yourself.

10. True personal independence is the freedom from reaction—the ability to choose actions and make choices that will influence positively the future of our lives and our world.

11. The Creator knows what it is we need to be doing and will provide us with plenty of chances to show up. However, we will not get an unlimited number of chances, and we cannot ever assume that we will have tomorrow.

12. Living serenely does not mean that we deny problems or avoid the responsibility for solving them. Just the opposite—we find the clarity and presence of mind to deal with the issues of daily living in positive constructive ways.

You cannot control all the circumstances in life; however, you can learn from them. You can choose to allow every circumstance to make you stronger, wiser, more knowledgeable, more skillful, and more loving.

You can control your ability to design your life and your philosophies. A philosophy of personal responsibility allows you to live from an inner core of integrity. It will bring a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.

--By Steve Brunkhorst