9 Ways to Change your Life

5. Responsibility and self-Reliance

For most people, having freedom and control in our lives is very important. We all value our ability to make our own decisions and having the power to choose. Of course, what a lot of us forget is that to have freedom and control in our lives requires a high level of responsibility and self-reliance. Often the best way to tell how 'free' you are is how much responsibility you are willing to accept in your life. Each of us is born totally dependant on other people, usually our parents. As young children, every part of our lives is decided and guided for us. We don't have to find our own food, clothing or shelter; we don't decide if we'll go to school.

Everything we do and everything we are is a result of other people doing it for us.

As we grow into adults, we begin to take more and more of this responsibility on for ourselves. Some of us take responsibility quite eagerly and enjoy the freedom that comes with it. Other people however tend to try to avoid the responsibility that being an adult requires. But avoiding responsibility is simply cheating yourself.

Here are three great ways to take more responsibility: 

1) Remind yourself. The best way to maintain a high level of  responsibility in your life is to continually remind yourself about it. You can say something simple to yourself like 'this is my responsibility' or 'I am responsible'. By doing this you trigger a deeper part of your character and become more in-control of your life.

2) Realise that freedom equals responsibility. Most people want a high
level of freedom in their lives. Unfortunately most people forget that to
truly be free and in-control requires that you take an equal level of
responsibility. Think about when you first moved out of home: for the
first time you were 'the boss' of your life. And as a result of this new
status, you also got to be the chief cook, bottle washer and bill-payer.
Realise that by accepting responsibility for yourself and your life, you
are also enabling more freedom and choice to flow towards you.

3) Admit your mistakes. One of the fatal flaws most people have is to try to hide their mistakes. They think that because they have 'messed up'
that they will cause trouble for themselves. Often they will try to hide
their mistakes by lying, avoiding or blaming. By doing this all they really
do is cause themselves to look foolish and untrustworthy. From this
moment on, resolve to face your mistakes and learn from them. By
admitting a mistake you instantly become more responsible.

Is there an area of your life where you could take on more responsibility? If so, then take it (bring it on) and you will suddenly feel more powerful and in-control.