Responsibility for the good stuff

How often did your parents tell you when you were a child that you had to take responsibility for your actions? How if you did x, then y would happen and not to be surprised when everything went wrong?

Did you learn that lesson? For many things I am sure you can confidently say yes you did but nonetheless, how often do things play out differently to how you wanted them to? When something happened along the way that wasn’t expected and suddenly a whole new alternative path was uncovered?

A film was made about this type of thinking along parallel lines in 1998 called Sliding Doors. It describes how different one person’s life might have been had they not missed that early train home. Cleverly the film plays out both lives in parallel so we can watch the impact on this lady’s life of that one critical missed train. .

How often have you wondered how things might have turned out differently if x had not happened or asked yourself the question, what if?  Whether you are a fatalist or believe in serendipity is irrelevant; at some point circumstances conspired to put you where you are today – be that good, bad or indifferent. Do you believe you are here by luck and judgement or have you brought about the situation i.e. subconsciously or not, have you managed to manifest your current situation?

Personally I believe that we are responsible somehow for everything that goes on in our lives. In many situations the dominoes could have been started years ago and only fall down today – but they are as a result of what you started however many weeks or years ago.

I have previously written on numerous occasions about the effect that not making a decision to do something has the same effect as making a decision to accept the status quo. Another translation of that could be that you are responsible for whatever plays out.

We tend to spend more time focussing on all the negative that goes on in our lives and the fact that we need to take greater responsibility for what goes wrong because it is our fault anyway. So why not try something different?  Why not consider all the good that happens every day as a result of your actions and appreciate the fact that you have manifested all the good in your life as well. Ask anyone in a hospice or suffering from a serious illness and they will all say they should have appreciated and celebrated all the good that was going on in their lives for all those years before they became ill.

If we take responsibility for the positive things that happen everyday that are forgotten, ignored or go un-noted we would have a lot of good things to focus on all of the time. Yes, rubbish will happen – we are all human after all – appreciating and taking responsibility for all the good stuff you do makes you focus on the good more often and in turn, make you take responsibility for making more good happen.

If all that goes right in your world is your fault – do more of it – take responsibility for the good that takes place in your life everyday personally and professionally. Life will become so much richer and more fulfilling.