One of the pillars of Environments of Success (EOS) is responsibility.
Responsibility is a mindset. It’s the practice of catching yourself when you start to blame or complain or make excuses.
When you practice responsibility, you ask yourself - what can I do to make this better? What is my responsibility in this situation?
For example, I recently hired a project manager to oversee one of the departments in my organization. There were specific tasks and goals to accomplish during this time. When it came time to review, the expected outcomes had not been achieved. Yes, it was the job of the project manager to make sure things had been completed. However, in practicing responsibility I needed to ask the question - what was my responsibility for the outcomes?
When I really thought about it, there were many things I could have done to take more responsibility and create a different outcome. I could have had weekly check-in meetings. I could have attended the team project meetings. In hindsight, even though it wasn’t specifically me that dropped the ball, having the mindset of taking complete responsibility could have changed the outcomes of the situation.
An area of responsibility that we often overlook is our thoughts. How often does the voice in your head tell you that you screwed up or that you’re dumb, overweight, and will never achieve your goals? That voice in your head might also make up stories about situations that are just not true.
For example, if your 16-year-old child takes the car out for the first time, you might make up all kinds of stories in your head. What if there’s an accident? What if he gets lost? What if a drunk driver hits him?
Taking responsibility for the thoughts in your head begins with examining them and identifying what is true and what is not. In this situation, the only thing that’s true is a parent waiting for their son to come home. All of the other thoughts that cause stress and worry are simply not true.
Practicing the mindset of 100% responsibility will help create the outcomes we want and will eliminate the thoughts that rob us of our peace and joy!
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