Imagine going through your entire life without taking personal responsibility for absolutely anything. How would this method of operation affect your life? Day to day life would be chaotic, career advancement would be impossible, and concepts like intrapersonal relationships would quickly become overwhelming and unfeasible. The ability and drive to take personal responsibility in life is a central focal point in the areas of creating a successful life, defining goals and priorities, and creating a structure with which to effectively guide your life.
When working toward a successful life, personal responsibility is a vital cornerstone. The concept of personal responsibility is more than just being accountable for your mistakes, it involves being accountable for your actions at large, both to yourself and to others. When one is not willing to take responsibility for their own actions and advancement, the idea of personal growth becomes impossible. Accountability is the only path to true, lasting growth. In life, missteps and slip ups are inevitable, but without taking accountability for these they will just pass by as unheeded, missed opportunities to learn. Similarly, if one does not take personal responsibility for driving one’s own advancement, many opportunities will fall by the wayside and just drift by. Being truly honest with oneself and others about what you want and need is integral in establishing personal responsibility. This truth is the core of the “First Step Process,” which is outlined succinctly in Becoming a Master Student (Toft, 2011): “The First Step technique is simple: Tell the truth about who you are and what you want. End of discussion… The First Step is one of the most valuable tools in this book. It magnifies the power of all the other techniques. It is a key to becoming a master student.”
To pursue this advancement and growth, personal responsibility becomes a crucial part of defining goals and priorities.
Bibliography: Toft, D. (2011). Becoming a Master Student, Thirteenth Edition. Cengage Learning.