The Most VALUABLE Skill to Build! (PERSONAL)
๐ฅ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐จ๐๐๐!!! ๐ฅ
It was April. I had all my flights booked for my trip to Scotland. I was all set! ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ
I got to the Chicago OโHare airport. Check! I checked in and boarded my flight. Check! I landed in London. Check! No sweat! ๐
Next it was time for for my flight to Scotland! I went to the airport check-in kiosk and typed in my ticket confirmation number. โจ๏ธ
โERRORโ. ๐ซ
Weird! I tried again. โERRORโ. ๐ซ It told me to go to the Customer Service desk for further assistance.
I was baffled! I looked at my plane ticket and then at my phone. I was definitely on time to catch the flight. What was going on?! โ๏ธ
I then checked the date on the ticket and at my phoneโฆOH NO! ๐ฑ
MY FLIGHT LEFT 24 HOURS AGO!!! I HAD BOOKED A FLIGHT FOR THE WRONG DAY!!! โ
โ๐ด๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐! ๐ด๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐!โ ๐คฌ
My body tensed. My breathing went shallow. My face squinted. What nowโฆ?! ๐
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๐ฅ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐จ๐๐๐!!! ๐ฅ
If I had to tell you the #1 skill that has made the greatest impact on my life, it would be the one Iโm about to share with you all. ๐
This skill has everything to do with whatโs shaped me into the person I am today. It has everything to do with how I gained control over my life. This skill Iโd even argue is the most humanistic skill I can share to anyone! โค๏ธ
What am I talking about? Do you really want to know? I ask because honestly quite a few people wonโt want to know. Why? Because theyโve heard about this skill before and dismissed it in the past. ๐งน
Because Iโm talking about: Personal Responsibility. Thatโs right! If I had to tell you the #1 skill you should develop for your life, it is THIS! ๐ฏ
That being said, what is Personal Responsibility? ๐
๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ผ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป.
๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐.
๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ป๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ.
๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ๐๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ.
๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ, ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ.
And I can already hear the critics of personal responsibility shouting from the rooftops! โ
โ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ง: ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฌ, ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ, ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ! ๐ก
โ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐! ๐๐จ๐ฎโ๐ซ๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ-๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ !โ ๐ก
โ๐โ๐ฆ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ!โ ๐ก
To clarify, personal responsibility is NOT about carrying the weight of the entire world on your shoulders. I donโt expect anyone to do that, not even myself! ๐
Bad things happen to good people, no doubt. There is injustice and corruption in the world, yes Iโm with you on that too! ๐
But thatโs not what this skill is about.
Personal responsibility is about taking the reins on our lives, being the Driver and not the Passenger of our circumstances.
๐ Yes, we are not responsible for things like where we are born. And personal responsibility says regardless of where we started in life that we work with the limited resources weโve been given.
๐ Yes, bad things happen to good people. And personal responsibility says in spite of the bad things we choose how we respond to them and still find ways to move forward.
๐ Yes, people and events outside our control may stop us from achievements in your life. And personal responsibility says: โThey will TRY, but they wonโt stop me from reaching my destination!โ
Itโs NOT about being 100% responsible for everything and everyone. Itโs about being 100% responsible for how you experience your life, that itโs never to be by accident, that you always take a conscious role in creating it.
In developing personal responsibility, you give yourself the gift of self-love. โ๐๐ค ๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉโ๐จ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ง๐ก๐, ๐โ๐ข ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ก๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐ก ๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ง๐ก๐!โ
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๐ฅ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐จ๐๐๐!!! ๐ฅ
โฆWhat now?! I was standing at the the airport kiosk with my luggage in one hand, my phone in the other, and trying to think of what to do. ๐
My mind filled up with questions. ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ? ๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฐโ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐? ๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ? ๐พ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐? ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ?
I closed my eyes and took a deep breathโฆand Personal Responsibility crept back into my mind! ๐
โ๐ฟ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ช๐ข๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐จ, ๐ ๐๐ข ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ. ๐๐ค๐๐ช๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐๐ก๐๐ข๐จ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐จ๐ค๐ก๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐. ๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐ก ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐ช๐จ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐จ๐ค๐ก๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ. ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐, ๐จ๐ค ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ก๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ.โ ๐ช
The kiosk had mentioned the Customer Service desk, so I went there. I spoke to the lady at the desk, I told her what happened, and I asked her what the most upcoming flights were to Scotland. โ๏ธ
Sure enough, there was an available flight only a few hours later! The lady said there would be an additional fee to transfer the ticket. At first my body tensed up again, but Personal Responsibility once again took over! โ๐๐ฉโ๐จ ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฅ๐๐ฎ, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐ก๐.โ
So in the end I got to Scotland only a couple hours later than my original schedule, and I got to meet my long-time MySpace friend Kris Nimbley for the first time! ๐
๐ฅ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐จ๐๐๐!!! ๐ฅ
Take time to invite Personal Responsibility into your life. The more you keep inviting him, the quicker he comes back to help you take the reins!
Unfortunately I know this post may fall on deaf ears for some people. Some people in fact donโt want to take responsibility. Why? Because it takes work to practice. It takes time to develop. Itโs an ongoing muscle that needs to continue being conditioned. ๐๏ธโโ๏ธ
Even more, personal responsibility requires a person to give up a habit they simply may not want to give up: blaming. We live in a culture thatโs filled with blaming and pointing the finger. This behavior is reinforced by other fellow Blamers, and rather than any side take some sort of responsibility it becomes a Blaming Party. โ๐ฐ๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฐ ๐ ๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!โ โ๏ธ
I confess, Iโve not been entirely blameless myself. There are times Iโve slipped up and blamed where I shouldnโt have. I donโt expect you to be perfect either starting out. But with time and practice, it will improve! Compared to where I was a while ago, Iโve come a very long way!
๐ I didnโt lose 80 pounds because I kept blaming fast food for my obesity. Itโs because I took responsibility over my food habits.
๐ I didnโt make peace with my sexuality because I kept blaming others for not accepting me. Itโs because I took responsibility to develop self-love and acceptance within myself.
๐ I didnโt make the progress I have the past few years because I kept blaming others for where I was in life. Itโs because I took responsibility for wherever I was and to always find solutions to keep moving forward.
๐ Blame is the excuse for inaction. Personal responsibility is the excuse for action. ๐
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I hope you found this post helpful! Personal responsibility has been a gift to my life, and I hope it is for yours too! ๐
I am taking responsibility once again to run the NYC Marathon in November! Itโs my FIRST marathon, and Iโve been training for over 10 weeks! I am dedicated to crossing that finish line! ๐๏ธ
โ โ โ -
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