What’s your policy?

What is responsibility?

Well, according to the  Webster’s online dictionary:

re·spon·si·bil·i·ty noun \ri-ˌspän(t)-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē\
: the state of being the person who caused something to happen
: a duty or task that you are required or expected to do
: Something that you should do because it is morally right, legally required, etc.

Well… whose responsibility is it? We immediately jump to whose fault something is, to whose job is to do something. Blame. Well.. I didn’t do it, and I’m right so that’s all there is to it! How many times have you been in that situation? whether at work, in relationship or in an unpleasant interaction.
It’s become our default position in society and we can usually find someone or something to corroborate our story and pin our justifications on. I’d like to talk about a new way to think about this, one that spins the conventional interpretation of responsibility on its head. Here, I’m going invite you to think about responsibility as something you step into, and claim, rather than assign blame to.  The energy of blame rarely solves the problem, infact most of the time its what keep the status quo, and prevents the situation from changing in a positive direction:

Ask yourself:

What part did I play in creating this situation?
Am I willing to take 100% responsibility for this situation?

Do The Math

Once I claim 100%, I allow the other person the freedom to claim 100% responsibility (if they choose), outside the box of blame I can shift my perspective and allow creative solutions come forth.

“Responsibility starts when I take it”   ~Drs. Gay & Katie Hendricks

re·spon·si·bil·i·ty : the ability to be able to respond fully from wholeness.