Who's Responsible for You?

You're Responsible For You

We can delegate tasks, but we can't delegate responsibility,
if the responsibility is really ours.

Sometimes, it's normal to delegate
tasks to other people.
We may hire people to do certain things for us.
We may engage in contracts with a therapist or a healer to
help us work through a certain issues.
But the responsibility for which pieces of advice
we follow, and the decisions we make in our lives,
ultimately belongs to us.

It's easy to get lazy.
We can let a friend, an employee,
or even a skilled therapist begin making our decisions for us.
We can listen to what they say and blindly take their advice.
Then we don't have to take responsibility for our lives.
If the decision doesn't work out,
we can say, "You were wrong.
Look at the mess you've gotten me into.
I'm a victim again."
Yes you are. But a victim of yourself.

We can listen to advice and let other people help us,
but if they're helping us do something that is our
responsibility, the ultimate responsibility
for the decision still belongs to us.

Get help when you need it. Delegate tasks.
But don't give away your power.
Remember you can think, you can feel,
you can take care of yourself,
you can figure out your problems.
Don't get lazy.
Don't give away responsibility for your life.

God, help me remember that I am responsible for me.

Melody Beattie ©