According to the Irish Times this morning the banking reports blame domestic factors for the for the banking crisis. Opposition politicians are calling for the Taoiseach and other ministers to take responsibility for the recession, the Government are blaming advisers, Lehman brothers and father Christmas and the general public are definitely blaming the Government. The standard cry from bankers, politicians, journalists and Joe Public is "It's their fault".
Of course, in all situations where something has gone wrong, there is always a clamour for a scapegoat. Someone to shoulder the blame for the wrongdoing. That is how things have always been in everything from the economy, to career, relationships and personal lives. It's always easier to blame someone else.
While there is a call for everything from a tribunal to investigate the economic crisis, to bank officials being made redundant and government agencies to be closed down, I haven't heard anyone call for an inquest into the responsibility of Joe and Josephine Public.
Certainly the banks made funds easily available without really checking out the repayment capability of the customer. They have to take responsibility for their part in the crisis. However, I don't recall any news stories about members of the public being forced to take this money at gunpoint. Nobody was threatening members of the public if they didn't take the cheap loans.
Mr & Ms Public wanted the second home, the new 4 X 4, the holiday home in Spain, Portugal or Bulgaria. I wonder if the budgets prepared by the government in the early 2000's were the hair shirt budgets we now face, would the public have reacted in an understanding way?
The U.S. President, Harry S. Truman had a sign on his desk that read "The Buck Stops Here". Although he probably didn't originate the phrase, we probably wouldn't have heard of it without him. The phrase meant that he didn't pass the buck, but that he took personal responsibility for the way the country was governed. There's no doubt that we could do with a lot less buck passing and more responsibility in Ireland at the moment.
However, that personal responsibility is just that - personal. Each and every one of us must take responsibility for our own part in where we are in our lives. Personal responsibility is an obligation to yourself. Life always gives you the consequences related to your action - or inaction, and like it or not, you must accept personal accountability for the mess and disorder that you have created in your life. The onus is on you to amend your mistakes. Individual responsibility also includes being accountable for the degree and level of your health, wealth, success and happiness.
When you look for who's at fault or what's wrong, you cannot advance in life because you have the wrong focus. The solution is to forgive so that you can forget and change your focus. What has happened in the past doesn't matter. Your physical, emotional and mental growth are more important because what you put your energy into today will determine how you live in the future.
If you have the right attitude, you are less likely to create unnecessary problems in your life. If difficulties do happen out of your control, you are more likely to respond to them optimistically. If you have children or employees you will understand the issue and importance of personal responsibility. You will encourage it in them and display it yourself as a role model for them.
Anthony Robbins said that life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity and responsibility to give something back by becoming more. We cannot control anything else in our lives except ourselves. While it's easier to look for someone to blame when something goes wrong and it's understandable that we look for that option first and foremost, maybe it's time that we started to change the way we look at things. When is the last time that you asked yourself honestly - "What is my responsibility in this?"
Life is about choices, and you and you alone are responsible for the choices you make, as am I and everyone else. If you go out for a walk and it looks like rain, you can bring an umbrella, but if you choose not to - then you can't blame the weather forecaster.
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." Johann Von Goethe.
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