Personal Responsibility & Self-Respect
Personal Responsibility & Self-Respect
Monday Memo for 01.23.23
Dignity. Self-respect. Confidence. We experience these when we are willing to accept responsibility for our lives and our decisions. Conversely, when we are not, we can be riddled with a sense of inferiority, feelings of worthlessness, and a mind full of doubts.
Many of us go through life sidestepping responsibility in certain ways without even knowing it. We might habitually leave decisions for someone else to make. Some of us avoid engaging in difficult, yet necessary conversations. Many people blindly follow the beliefs of their parents without ever truly thinking for themselves. The full expression of such passivity occurs when someone succumbs to the pressure of those around them, biting their tongue and yielding to someone else’s vision for their life.
There are those who equate avoiding responsibility with personal freedom, when, in truth, it leaves us in a state of dependence. The emotional toll this takes is enormous.
It stands to reason that if we think like a child and act like a child we will also feel like a child. It’s hard for someone to be proud of him or herself when they feel helpless and weak.
When we opt to take ownership of our lives for the first time, we experience a type of satisfaction that is entirely new to us. We feel a sense of power. Like those on any other path, the first steps along the way to dignity are the hardest to take. But, not only do these steps energize and invigorate us, they lead us toward the most authentic version of ourselves - the one we love and respect.
May we have the courage we need to take ownership of our lives in the ways we’re reluctant to do so.
Read my piece from Friday, How the Patriarchy Undermines Masculinity. Or, to learn more about why I’m on Substack, click here. Thanks for your support.
Have a great week.
