Responsibility is the decision to be the man who responds. Not everything that happened to you is your fault; almost everything about what happens next is your job.
Part 01
The lesson
The practical test is language. Listen to how you describe your problems. If the sentences are dominated by what other people did, you have handed away the steering wheel. Rewrite each one to include the part you control, however small.
Part 02
In practice
'My boss never gives me good work' becomes 'I have never asked directly for different work, and I have not built the skill that work requires.'
Reflection
Questions to sit with
- 01Do your private decisions match the man you present publicly?
- 02What do you do when nobody is watching?
- 03Can people depend on your word?
Put it into practice
Action points
- 01For seven days, write down every commitment you make out loud, and mark each one kept or broken. Read the list at the end of the week without excuses.
- 02Pick one habit you have avoided and shrink it until it takes under five minutes. Do it daily for two weeks before making it bigger.