Personal Responsibility - What's That?

The other day I saw a bumper sticker that read, "Accept responsibility for one's own actions. It's not that complicated." Unfortunately, in today's society, the idea of personal responsibility has been put on a back shelf. Instead of taking responsibility for our own actions, we like to play the blame game. It's not my fault I gained ten pounds, it is the fault of the company that makes the cream cheese that I slather all over my morning bagel. Yes, officer, my drivers license is expired, but it's not my fault, the lines at the DMV are so long and I don't have time to wait. Or, I know that smoking can cause cancer, but I only smoke a couple of cigarettes a day and it's not my fault I can't quit, I am addicted.

General Motors made poor decisions, mismanaged funds, and spent money it didn't have, but is it their fault they were falling into bankruptcy? Of course not. You bought a home with no money down and no back ups in case your status changed and now your home is going in to foreclosure. A sad story, but is it the bank's fault who loaned you the money? No, it's your fault for buying something you could not afford. Michael Jackson was a self-proclaimed drug addict, but it couldn't possibly be his fault that he died from an overdose. Surely, it is the fault of someone else, the doctors who provided the drugs, his family who didn't provide support or maybe the moon wasn't in proper alignment with Jupiter that July afternoon. If we keep playing the blame game, keep pointing fingers at someone or something else for our problems, nothing will change. Take responsibility for the choices you make in life. Take responsibility and move forward, because at the end of the day, the only way you can make your life better is to accept responsibility for your actions and be careful to make better choices the next time around.