"Being one hundred percent responsible is responding and taking action despite our circumstances to do what is best for ourselves and others." — James McPartland
When asked what one quality leaders should focus on developing to be successful, my answer is always responsibility.
As leaders, it is essential to strive to take one hundred percent responsibility for your life, and there are two variations to what responsibility means for each of us.
First, we are responsible for the results we get in life — the agreements and commitments we make with others and ourselves, how we show up, the choices we make day in and day out, etc.
The easier way to grasp this concept is that if we want to lose weight by a certain time, then we are responsible for the outcome. If we want our business to expand and earn more money, then we are responsible for how hard we work to achieve that.
The second variation to responsibility is a little trickier. It requires us to not fall into one of the easiest habits we all face, playing the victim.
“It’s raining, I can’t go on a run today.” “COVID restrictions are causing me to lose business.” “With inflation, I can’t hire the employees I need.” Do these sound familiar?
Taking 100% responsibility for our lives means pushing past the victim mentality and taking one hundred percent responsibility for all circumstances that show up in our lives. That doesn’t mean we are responsible for the rising prices or the pandemic, but we can be responsible for it by how we respond to it.
Things will always disrupt our plans, whether that's the weather, COVID, inflation, decisions made by others, etc. We have to be responsible for how we interpret those scenarios and practice the discipline of making the best choice for how to respond.
We have the choice to decide which direction to move in that will have the most positive influence on the situation and the direction we are working to lead our life.
So, if you want to be successful, then start practicing the art of taking 100% responsibility for everything in your life. Put on those running shoes despite the rain and don’t let outside forces hold you back from living the life you aspire to have.
