Personal Responsibility

 

Taking personal responsibility is more than just admitting when you are wrong or made a mistake. We will look more at that when we talk of excuses. Scouts learn that taking responsibility means you take charge of your life. It is, in fact, the only thing you can take charge of. Jim Rohn said, “You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.”

As a Scout, you understand that if you are to achieve your dreams, you, not anyone else, must make it happen. You are the one who sets the goals, makes plans, takes action, and makes adjustments along the way. It all boils down to you, and if you do not do it, it will not get done. As Pastor Robert Schuller says, “If I am going to succeed, it is up to me.”

“The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility for every part of their life.”

Brian Tracy

Author

 

I have seen far too many people waiting for success to happen to them. They look to other people to help them; they look to God to bless them, they look to the government to subsidize them, they look to their circumstances to improve for them. It is not in any of those things. The key to success has been and always will be you. Les Brown said, “If you take responsibility for yourself, you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.” How hungry are you?

This does not mean you are on your own. People and circumstances help you along the way, but you have to be “on the way” for that to work. Even God will not bless your efforts if there are no efforts to bless. Scouts know you cannot steer a train that is not moving. On the other hand, you cannot stop one that is moving. You are the engineer here; you make the choices.

Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts, said, “An individual step in character training is to put responsibility on the individual.” The responsibility to achieve your dreams is on you. Make it happen. See that you take action, set the course, and start moving. It will not happen on its own. The time is now! You have all you need because you have you.

Scouting Out of Uniform is a personal blog based on the lessons learned from Scouting that relate to personal development and success principles and is not an official site of The Boy Scouts of America. John Patrick Hickey does not represent or speak for the Scouting program; however, he does completely support and encourages Scouting for both young and old. John Patrick Hickey is an author, speaker, Personal Development Coach, and proud Scouter. To read more from John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.   © 2020 John Patrick Hickey