Being responsible means that you contributed to an event occurring, either by your actions or your failure to take action. Of course this could be a good or a bad thing depending upon the circumstances. If you have contributed to something positive happening, you may not struggle to take responsibility for your role; although some people do. Where you tend to see people struggle to accept responsibility is when things go wrong. Few people like to admit that they contributed to a poor outcome. However, being responsible means that you must step up and take responsibility.

Have you ever caused something to happen and not taken responsibility for it?

Many people have done exactly this and have not owned up. A person with a winner’s mindset will actually own up and take responsibility. In reality it is part of human nature to cause things to happen. Sometimes these are not intentional acts and you may feel bad over a certain outcome. Being responsible means that you will own up regardless of the outcome but this is not always an easy thing to do. Once the outcome has been revealed it can be difficult to say that you were the cause of it.

​When you start being responsible for your outcomes, you will start to experience a range of benefits. The following are just some of the key benefits which you will experience when you start being responsible:

As well as being the cause of an issue or circumstance, being responsible also means that you have the power to make things better. Simply put, if you​r mistake had enough influence to produce the wrong outcome; ​doing the right thing will have enough influence to produce the right outcome.

When you see things from this perspective, you begin to see how powerful and influential you can be. You begin to realise that you can achieve whatever you want as long as you choose, and implement, the correct actions.

When you fail to take the actions that you need to take to achieve your goals, it is usually for one of the following reasons:

​When being responsible for your life is a core principle that you live by; you are never afraid to get started. You accept that you might not get it right first time, but you know that you can learn from whatever outcome you achieve. Then, you can implement whatever changes you need to make and achieve a better outcome. Being responsible means that you are always learning and, always improving. So, you can never fail because you don’t give up until you get where you want to go.

Imagine having a mindset whereby you believed that you could achieve anything that you set your mind to.  Being responsible for you own life allows you to achieve this because when you see each experience as a learning experience, you are always confident that you can improve.

​When you are not being responsible, you find it more difficult to solve any problems that arise. The reason for this is pretty simple; there are a number of potential causes of any problem and by avoiding being responsible, you are refusing to consider one of the most likely causes of the problems you experience – you i.e. your actions or failure to take action.

There may be several reasons why you refuse to consider the idea that you are responsible for your own outcomes, including:

​Those are just 3 of the most common reasons but each of them makes you look worse. Most people can accept when others make mistakes because we know that we make them too. When you refuse to look at your own mistakes, it irritates others because even if you are not arrogant, you come across that way. Being honest about your mistakes is actually a great way to build relationships.

When you are willing to consider your own mistakes, by being responsible, you are more likely to find some or, all of the problem. Remember that there is one common denominator in all your problems – you.

That doesn’t mean you should beat yourself up. You should feel empowered because you now know what you need to change and so; a better outcome is in your hands. Life is full of problems and challenges. When you are willing to consider everything that might be contributing to your problems, you are more likely to solve these problems quickly.

Have you ever noticed how people give someone an easy time when that person admits that they made a mistake? We are all human and as such, we all make mistakes. Nobody is infallible and deep down we know that. Therefore, when somebody owns their mistake, we can see a little of ourselves in them. We know that we make mistakes too so we are more likely to react with empathy and compassion.

Empathy and compassion serve to improve the quality of relationships by helping people bond and relate to each other.

Alternatively, think about how you feel when somebody refuses to accept responsibility even though you know that it is them who made the mistake. They seem less trustworthy. If they blame someone else for their mistake, you are likely to think that they would blame you just as easily. It is hard to empathise or be compassionate with someone like this and with the breakdown of trust, the relationship suffers.

You owe it to your family to act responsibly. By doing this you are teaching your children good habits and you are helping them to accept responsibility for their actions. You are displaying the strong values which you would like them to develop.

It is the same with friends and colleagues. Rather than telling others how they should behave, you are demonstrating it by being a suitable role model. Rather than preach your values, you are living them.

I bet you can think of someone who never behaves in the manner they expect others to behave. Their hypocrisy is really irritating isn’t it? It is as if they think that they are better than you and; they don’t have to play by the same rules. You don’t want to cooperate with them and neither does anyone else.

If you want others to behave in a particular manner, the best way to do it is to demonstrate the behaviour that you wish to see. When you constantly hold yourself to the highest standards, most people will want to emulate you. There will be one or two exceptions, but you will have a lot less conflict than you would if you tried telling others what to do.

Being responsible for your own thoughts, words and behaviour is one way in which you hold yourself to the highest standard. When people see you hold yourself accountable, they will have less resistance  when you hold them accountable for their actions too.

Making decisions and choices is also connected to responsibility. It is quite easy to put off making a particular decision because you are worried or fearful of the consequences. There may be other people who will be affected by this decision and by putting it off, you are not helping them.

Instead you need to be responsible to yourself and to others by taking the bull by the horns and making a tough decision. You may not be able to please everyone but you need to make the right choice for you.

By actually taking action and doing something you are being responsible. Once you have made this decision you need to be strong enough to follow it through. On the way, you may meet with obstacles and roadblocks. You need to hold strong with your conviction and stay with your original decision.

​Actions of responsibility can be seen by politicians and business leaders around the world today. They make a decision, good or bad, and then stay with their choice and follow it to an end result. You don’t have to like or respect these people but they have the courage of their convictions. They know what they believe in and what they want to achieve and they take responsibility for making it happen. They know that not everyone will agree with them but being responsible is not about popularity. Nobody will agree with everything that you do. By being responsible you take responsibility for your beliefs, ideas, goals, mistakes and achievements. You will be stronger, more confident and more successful in every area of your life.