 Often when mistakes occur we tend to lose our ability to think coherently and wander aimlessly trying to assign blame rather than taking responsibility for our actions I was going to write about change and how we deal or try to deal with change, however recently I have come into contact with a number of people who appear unwilling or unable to take responsibility for their actions.
Re-spon-si-bil-i-ty = the state of being the person who caused something to happen (Merriam Webster) Maybe one of the most difficult things we can do is admit we goofed, however I am always surprised when I work with or come across someone who is resistant to admitting that maybe they are infallible. Is it a fear of embarrassment or reprisal, from boss or other? For me when a mistake/error, call it what you will, occurs, my first reaction is have I learned anything? The same question arises when a colleague finds that they have goofed, what have they learned? How will those learnings impact their future decisions? Now I have to be honest its taken a long time for me to come to this reaction, but it is now my reaction of choice and it makes life so much easier! Of course, no major disasters have occurred in my life because of a mistake I made! What about you, how do you react to mistakes? Have you tried to view it in this light? What would it take to change your current reaction to one of review and non blame? I wonder when we learn to deny our responsibility, is it as children when our siblings or friends tell us how much trouble we'll be in? Is it later when we do something we know our parents would disapprove, or when our friends egg us on, or we don't think and the consequences are bad and we're afraid of the reaction from family, friends or worse? Think about it, how different the World could be if we all admitted to our mistakes and shouldered the responsibilities that came with admitting those errors!
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 Today, finally an indication that the sun has not forgotten us on the West Coast. The sun shone in time for the Dragonboat Festival, a testament to Women and their families perseverance in times of fierce challenge and frightening times - breast cancer. Teams arrive today and tomorrow and begin their competition early Saturday, tomorrow we celebrate the opening ceremony of dotting the eye of the dragon, remember those who did not survive their battle, and toast those who continue to survive and thrive in this new life. The weekend honours lives lost and celebrates those who continue to survive and thrive, it moves us to recognize that as Steve Jobs said in his famous graduation speech 'no one has yet escaped death', so if you were told you had only a few days to live, what would you want to do?
As I look back over the years, particularly when my kids were small, there were times where I was so caught in the worries of the day, I forgot to enjoy the moment. Today, I have learned to 'unknot' my neck and shoulders, but first I need to recognize that I am falling into that trap, seizing up with the 'what ifs'. It is so much easier to fall into the net of worry, it allows us not to move forward, we don't have to make a decision. I often said to my kids so what? What is the worst thing that could happen? It was so easy to ask the question, not so to answer it myself - it continues to be a work in progress. What about you, can you recognize the cozy blanket of worry that allows you the excuse of not taking steps to move forward? |
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