Chapter 20 responsible

It's a never-ending debate. Are we responsible for our actions? Do we have free will? Most of the time we feel in control. But sometimes we don't. In those moments we believe we're justified to say, 'It wasn't my fault'. But why not? Sure, circumstances can make some options more difficult than others. But does that give us  an excuse? Should we be held responsible for our actions even if we're stressed, depressed or conditioned by our environment?

Take cheating, for example. If a man cheats on his wife does he have any right to blame his actions on the other woman, peer pressure, or his wife's behavior? It's not uncommon for a man to explain away his actions. Often men don't want to take responsibility. And, sadly, it's not unusual for the wife to blame herself. But would a man (or woman for that matter) cheat if their partner were in eye shot of their actions. I think not. So why shouldn't they take responsibility for something they know they shouldn't do?

every action we take has consequences. But often we take responsible action despite being fully aware of the ramifications. For example, we may know buying that dress, computer or car will plunges us into unmanageable debt. But we buy it anyway. In many situations we're at the mercy of our desires. We react to impulses instead of taking the time to consider the consequences. But for a healthier and more fulfilling life we need to learn how to take deliberate and considered action. We need to change reaction into response. In short, we need to take responsibility.

We might not have complete control in life. We may be a slave to convention. But we do have the power to break free of the chains that bind us to a particular pattern of behavior. What's more, even if the word is a deterministic system we do have some control of how we get to the end point. In other words, we're going to die-that has been determined for us and we can't control that fact-but we do have control of how we experience the ride. You see, we can choose to take the high road or the low road.


We can always choose our attitude in response to life's events