Shaggy's song: It Wasn't Me, is so ridiculously funny- it is sad. It also tells the story of what is happening in our society today. People are looking further and further away from the 'man in the mirror' to fix the challenges they face. Today, I want to take a look at how personal responsibility affects our world in the three areas that are the most familiar to me- I am certain you can relate!
As a Mother, a Wife and a Business Owner, I deal with personal responsibility on a daily basis and believe that we should get an entire generation to start wearing shirts that say:
Personal Responsibility: GET SOME!! (food for thought!!)
Being a Mommy BEGINS with personal responsibility.
The overwhelming sense of being responsible for the life of another is soon overcome by wondering if your little cherub will ever have any of their own!!
- Who left the milk out? It wasn't me!!!
- I didn't get my homework done but IT WASN'T MY FAULT.
- I did get a ticket Mom but the guy in front of my was speeding faster and the police officer was really rude (How dare he pull you over for speeding!)
As our children grow, we are tasked with teaching them the benefits of personal responsibility and I have to say, it is not an easy one. Explaining to a child that for every action there is an equal or greater reaction is tough but we can certainly begin by BEING the example! Are we blaming traffic for being late? Are we blaming Dad's frustrations for our poor attitude? Are we inadvertently suggesting that a school system or society is causing the problems all around us? As a Mommy- we need to remember that our children will take our lead and our lead may be the most important way they learn personal responisbility since it is not currently an abundant trait in our society.
Relationships are definitely riddled with opportunities to employ personal responsibility!
- Don't like how the marriage is going: what's your part in the situation?
- Not finding the time to flame the passion between you and your spouse: MAKE time & do it anyway!
- Ever feel like you are drifting together without goals? Take the lead- set some goals together!
My marriage has taught me more about personal responsibility than almost any other area in my life. If I blame Mr Perry for the challenging areas in our marriage (even if he IS at fault), I am not owning my part in the situation and by taking my power back, I can alter the course and get my desired end result! Personal responsibility definitely saves relationships!
These days, work is where I come face to face with personal responsibility issues the most.
If I am feeling too stressed, overwhelmed or disorganized, I just need to locate a mirror to find the solution- yes- ME. By assessing every situtation in business and asking the question: What can I do to help or change things- I am placing my self squarely in the path of success! Here are a few of the questions I am asking myself these days- maybe they will spark some great questions you can begin asking of that beauty in the mirror.
- Are we growing as a business? Are my goals specific and I have shared them with my team?
- Is my staff delivering on the promise of Excellence? Am I leading by example and keeping the performance bar high?
- Are merchants taking responisbility for the agreements they sign? Is my team disclosing all pertinent details and taking every precaution to prevent misunderstandings?
When I take personal responsibility for my work situations, I can rest easy, knowing that I have earned the right to expect the same of others. If a staff member arrives late to work, they KNOW the consequence. If a merchant earns an early termination fee- they KNOW it could have been prevented. When the business is growing, we celebrate as a team of personally responsibile individuals. Just like we would dig in as a team, if our results needed some assistance.
It doesn't really matter what area you are looking at in your life- EVERY area requires us to employ the mindset of Personal Responsibility in order to achieve our highest potential as a Mommy, a Wife, a Business Owner and as a Human Being!
While Shaggy's song is a lighthearted look at the opposite of personal responsibility, Michael Jackson left us with a great one to encourage us to take a look at The Man in The Mirror.
Enjoy that beautiful song and take the message of "Personal Responsibility: GET SOME!!" with you this week.
