Now the profound simplicity of what I want to share today will elicit in some people yawning boredom and in others “Aha!” eureka moments. Yet whether you yawn or go Yippee! it all depends on the meanings you construct. And the “problem” with the meanings we construct is that because our innate powers are so simple, many will discount them.
I am convinced of this:
If you want to unleash your potential and live a self-actualizing life, if you want to make the most of your possibilities and live life as fully as possible (and who doesn’t?) — then you have to unleash your responsibility powers.
It’s required. No one can give you this. You have to choose it and then you have to act on it. You have to begin to unleash within yourself living a more responsible way of life.
Self-actualization is that simple.
So many people live their lives and talk as if they are completely unaware and unconscious that they have innate personality powers.
They talk victim talk.
They talk as if they are helpless.
They talk as if they have no choice.
They talk as if they are hopeless.
They talk as if they are not human beings with these innate responsibility powers, but helpless victims living in a deterministic universe where they are fated, controlled and forced.
What is this responsibility power?
Responsibility simply means being able to respond, having the ability to respond.
Being response-able.
Being response-able is your power of mind, emotion, speech, and behavior.
It is your emotional power to “move” yourself “out” from your current state to your desired states.
It is your linguistic power of speech which enables you to inquire in order to understand, assert to explain, explore to learn, invite in and set boundaries to keep out, etc.
It is your behavioral power to take action, plan, talk with others, create partnerships, manage risk, practice, persist, be resilient, etc.
It all starts in your mind. But being mindful of this responsibility power is not the end. Next you need to take ownership of this power. Owning your responses and deepening that so it becomes fully embodied, you begin to feel your innate power resulting in pro-activity, taking the initiative, openness to action, bias to action, courage, and risk-taking.
Risks and responsibilities are chances to be taken, not avoided.
Life is not merely what happens to you, no matter how hurtful, it also involves what you do with it. So, what do you do with things not being fair? With disappointments, hurts, accidents, disasters?
You can think and feel and talk and act like a victim — that’s within your power. You can also think and feel and talk and act like a person with response-ability at your command. Then you can forge the kind of life you want — and make the most of things. And it all begins by identifying and owning your response-ability.
Only you can Tacomob.
The choice is yours and yours alone – as always!
For further reading on this subject I can recommend “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl or “Secrets of Personal Mastery” by L.Michael Hall.
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” – Viktor Frankl
“The final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” – Anne Frank