Don’t Blame it on …
Happy Truth Thursday!
I've been thinking about blame lately and so that's what we shall be looking at today. I pray that you will see and understand today's truth.
What is the purpose of blame? It is usually to absolve yourself from guilt and responsibility when something has gone wrong. "It's not my fault. It is ___ fault"
Why do we seek to blame others? So, we can feel better about ourselves and maintain the image that we are good and right, without explicitly saying so.
Blame is the opposite of taking responsibility for yourself and your actions. One thing that we do not realise is that when we ignore our sense of responsibility, we ignore our opportunities too.
To understand this, let's go back to the saying:
To whom much is given, much more is expected.
This means, when you have been given many privileges, opportunities, blessings etc, there is a lot that is expected of you. The expectations of a CEO are far greater than that of an entry-level staff. In the same vein, the privileges given to a CEO are far greater than that of an entry-level staff.
To whom much is given, much more is expected.
Imagine a CEO that is unable or unwilling to take responsibility for his actions, will anyone take such a person seriously? Someone who always has something or someone else to blame for the company's failures and missteps is not fit to be a leader. Imagine a CEO that cannot say "I messed up. I am sorry. I will fix this." Will you have any confidence in any company that that CEO runs? You won't trust that the CEO will do the right thing to turn bad situations around. He won't even be able to admit he is in the wrong, so where will he even begin to fix the situation? Essentially, by blaming others and refusing to take responsibility, the CEO has made himself redundant.
You are the boss of yourself.
However, if you keep finding people, situations and things to blame for what you judge or perceive as being wrong in your life, you've lost the plot. You cannot call yourself a boss if you cannot take responsibility for yourself. If you can't take the time to see the role YOU play in YOUR life, because you are too busy blaming other people or things, then how will you know what attitudes of yours need changing to move forward?
How will you be able to own and learn the lessons life tries to teach you?
How will you grow in the way that your circumstances have been designed to make you grow?
Lessons, growth, improvement, no matter how painful, are all opportunities. They are opportunities to create a better version of yourself. They are opportunities for you to express your freedom as an individual; I say freedom because the person that still depends on another to take his or her responsibility is beholden to that other and thus not free. So, blame not only takes away your sense of responsibility and your opportunities to grow, it takes away your freedom too.
BLAME IS BLINDING. IT BLINDS YOU FROM SEEING YOURSELF AS YOU REALLY ARE.
IT BLINDS YOU FROM SEEING THE TRUTH.
Situations in your life happen because they must. So, it is a better use of your time to accept what is, as necessary for your growth. Have the mindset that you are your own CEO and as such, must be responsible for yourself no matter what anyone else does.
You may not be able to control what other people do or the way things turn out, but you can always control your reaction to them. That is where your freedom lies, don't give it up to anyone or anything.
Always focus on what you can do to remedy a situation. Then you will always be a master.
Forget about blame. It is a wasted effort.
Instead, own up to your life and be take the fullest responsibility for yourself. No one else will.
Love,
O.F.P.