From the human development standpoint, responsibility can be defined as the capacity to react. In other words, it is the power you have over other domains that allows you to direct and act on events.
Why do we evade responsibility? We may evade it in pursuit of comfort or out of fear that we lack confidence in the desired results. However, people committed to leading their lives are keen to take responsibility. Taking responsibility is not about overwhelming yourself with many tasks; it is about being assertive in the matters you work on. You can only be assertive by working while setting your goal in mind.
Thinking about being responsible towards yourself, others, and your interaction with your environment means that you are greatly committed. This might seem heavy for many people, so they prefer to be extremely irresponsible. You have to think and answer: What kind of person are you?
Choose between Acting Reactively or Proactively
When you carry out your role in any field, there are three types of responsibility that you can choose from based on how anxious the situation makes you: reacting, taking the initiative, and being creative.
Stephen Covey, a lecturer and management specialist, said, "When a person is immersed in a cycle of anxiety - real or imagined - these feelings dominate everything, thus reducing their circle of influence. This happens when you show a reaction."
On the other hand, when a person chooses to work and take responsibility, they expand their circle of influence and reduce anxiety, thus, showing their positive and proactive side.
Depending on your attitude towards the problems we address, these two principles establish three levels of personal responsibility:
1. Reaction-based responsibility
This behavior indicates that you react before an event occurs, even though you have evidence that something might happen. It is common to provide multiple justifications and explanations for why you delay acting after the event occurs.
For example, even if your reaction comes late, you will try to minimize the harm caused by a problem you anticipated arising in your personal or professional life. It's like using a tiny bucket to put out a fire rather than calling the firefighters.
We can infer that your behavior is an emergency reaction to the reality that has befallen you, even though there are already signs that it will eventually happen. At times, you may even possess all the knowledge necessary to predict the outcome.
Following the devastation of numerous cities by Hurricane Katrina, a study was carried out in Louisiana, USA. They inquired as to whether the victims, who lost everything, believed they had any part in the catastrophe. The vast majority were very offended by the question, while a small percentage of people said they did bear some responsibility for what happened. For example, they had deliberately decided to reside in a tornado-prone area. They hadn't gotten permission to build in the area, bought the right insurance, or followed safety warnings.
"I didn't realize what was happening," "I tried, but," "I had planned to do this," "I forgot to warn that this might happen," "I helped solve the problem anyway," "I feel helpless," and "It's their fault" are some common statements made by people who exhibit reactive responsibility.
As you can see, numerous indications suggest the victim's behavior in these cases, rather than taking full responsibility for their decisions not to act in advance of what would happen.
2. Initiative-based responsibility
In this case, you do your best to prevent damage before it happens. You might even go further, analyzing possible scenarios and their causes, working on them, and setting a plan for unexpected events. In other words, you take action.
The probability of problems happening decreases when you decide to take preventative action; otherwise, you may come to regret not being prepared.
For example, executive teams across different companies frequently set contingency plans for handling delicate situations and backup scenarios that enable them to carry on even in cases where the company's course has deviated or is no longer what they had anticipated. Some have received training in creating preventive measures for their families and businesses.
You must participate actively and develop the habit of taking initiative within the context of responsibility. This entails working to achieve the best outcome while foreseeing potential outcomes. This is considered an accepted practice when establishing safety standards that must be adhered to strictly in domains such as engineering and science.
These conscientious, proactive people use the following expressions: "I need to act immediately," "I take responsibility for the situation," "I need to find the best alternatives," "I need help solving this part of the problem so we can deal with it together," and "I know that if we work together, I can solve the problem."
3. Creativity-based responsibility
In this case, you fulfill your responsibility by utilizing your imagination and creativity, which are talents innate in all people, even though many reject this because they lack creativity.
Here's an example to help you understand the idea: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, a client in the tourism industry was utterly idle. So, they took the initiative, used their creativity, and devised a plan to make money by providing online seminars that helped them promote their services. They were able to attract their current clients thanks to the participants from different countries who joined their seminars. They also contracted with a European company to offer the same seminars to other establishments.
In other words, when you act with creative responsibility, you always try to find a solution and overcome an obstacle instead of just understanding and solving it. You continue to work on the problem constructively.
In such situations, it is common to hear one say: “I am looking for an answer to this question,” “I will come up with an original solution,” “I am a creative person, and I know how to move forward,” and “I am responsible for the problem, and I will solve it.”
3 more responsibility-related ideas
1. People do not resist change; they resist changing themselves
There is a meme that went viral on social media that shows people standing in two lines: one lengthy and never-ending line in front of a sign that reads, "Who wants change?" and another line consisting of 2-3 persons in front of a sign that reads, "Who wants to change?"
This shows that change begins with the individual and stems from an internal choice to take responsibility for all events in your life.
2. Swapping out the question for a different one
This strategy will help you reverse situations in which you need to know whether you should take responsibility. Ask yourself, "What prevents me from taking responsibility in this situation? Is there an internal pattern that I hold on to that causes me to act this way? What would happen if I took responsibility? What if I don't take responsibility? What are the possible consequences?"
You want to expand your perspective of the situations you face so that you choose to take responsibility instead of inaction and playing the victim role.
3. Replacing protests with proposals and blame with demands
The most important thing about responsibility is taking measures in your life by taking control. However, evading responsibility is a way to express or protest your implicit or explicit disagreement by doing nothing. Provide ideas and substitute solutions instead. Always suggest three different actions to take. This represents initiative-based responsibility at its finest.
Expressing blame is also very common when adopting responsibility based on showing a reaction. When you blame someone else, you abdicate your responsibility and revert to acting as the victim. Those who do so might say, “I am committed to this issue, but do not ask me to participate in achieving it.” Why are you not taking your responsibilities more seriously? It would have been better if you had declined to accept any responsibilities.
Therefore, make a formal demand bearing your signature and stamp if you disagree with something rather than assigning blame. The two scenarios are very different from one another. The latter action shows that you are taking full responsibility and are putting some alternatives into practice. It is not just about protesting without a reason but also about finding solutions.
As motivational speaker and writer Les Brown said, “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that you will get you where you want to go, no one else.”
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