Personal Responsibility

I am not a sensitive person. I don't care what anyone does with their life as long as it doesn't harmfully affect another person. I really feel like personal responsibility is the biggest thing lacking in a lot of people. I've seen it in all walks of my life from coaching baseball to addictions to churches. The one thing they all have in common is "It's not my fault." Give me the person who steps up to the plate, takes control of their actions and the responsibility that comes with it.

My baseball team knows that I will never allow anyone to blame an umpire if we lose. Are there bad calls sometimes? Sure, but that's not why we lost. If we lose I always make them understand that we lose because of ourselves. I always ask them if the other team is just more talented than us. Of course at this point they always say, "NO!" I say, "Well, they won because they played better than we did." That's it, end of story. I say, "If you want to win, make a decision to come back the next game and play better than we did today. Work on getting better at our weaknesses. That's what's holding us back." Personal responsibility. It's our success or fault, whether we win or lose.

Most people know you will get no sympathy about addictions from me. I'm not a hard ass, I just can't help you....only you can do that. The people I've seen beat addictions are some of the best, strongest people I know. Addiction is probably what I work hardest in my life to avoid. The thought of not having a choice. The thought of being controlled by something is my biggest fear. Most people think smoking or drinking, but it can be anything. It is the simple act of not being in control, being forced to do something against your will. What I always say is that there are two options. A) Either quit doing what you don't want to do or B) Recognize that you don't want to quit and manage the situation. There's no real struggle in the decision and then it's just willpower. I have more respect for the smoker that smokes like a chimney and doesn't care what people think than the one saying, "I have to quit this.....exhale" If you wanna quit, quit. If not, smoke till the day you die, or eat, drink or do drugs. I don't care, it's your life. And maybe, just maybe you don't want to quit. Take responsibilty for your actions. It's nobody else's fault. If that's the case, then it's your choice. I've seen people blame their past or their situations with an attitude that, "This is just how it's going to be." I think change can happen at anytime, but it doesn't because most people don't want to change. My one true addiction in life is eating ice. I can have a cup of ice and chew it down like a horse eating an apple. Am I going to ever quit? No. I made a decision to manage the situation. When I'm at home I don't use ice. It's what I can live with, and I'm happy. That's kind of a lame example, but it can apply to anything. Like I said, either quit or manage your adddictions. I know one thing, I don't tell people I'm going to quit something unless I'm going to quit. Personal Responsibilty. It's our choice what we do with our life, and how we live it.

I know that religion is a sensitive topic. The reason is because no one can really prove what they believe and that's scary. I try not to insult people about religion, but I do have to admit how funny I think it is that people are so sensitive about their beliefs. It's like God's watching people laugh about religious theories and not happy. Oh, we can laugh at other religions, but ours is sacred. God has a sense of humor, that's why he made people. People are crazy. If someone told me all my beliefs and values were completely off course and ripped me a new one, I would just smile. It's an opinion, that's it, on my end and their end. I learned long ago that I can't prove what I believe...it's called faith. Good things and bad things are going to happen to you in life no matter what. That being said, the better off we are to others the better off we'll be. You can call it what you want to call it, but I believe in karma. You will reap what you sow in this life. I don't blame God for my problems and I don't sit around and wait for answers from God to tell me what to do. I make the best decision possible with the information I have on hand. If I screw up it's my fault. Before I undertake an action I think of the consequences. Personal Responsibility. God gave me a brain and it's my responsibility to live this life he created for me to the best of my ability.

At the end of the day, whatever situations we come from in life don't matter. At some point we can't blame our family, or our past or our situations. At some point, we have to set goals for our lives and think about the steps we need to take to accomplish them. The biggest thing I've learned is that when we live life on our own terms we are much happier. Outside forces are just bumpers on the road we travel, but we push the gas and steer the wheel. My goal is to take responsibility for myself in everything I do. I screw up sometimes, and sometimes I don't make the best decisions, but I dust myself off, learn from today and prepare for tomorrow. Sometimes I make good decisions and I take pride in that. What I've found is that if I attempt to sow love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control that I will reap the same in return. Personal Responsibility. I'm in control!