If You Want Greatness, Take Responsibility Stop blaming outside factors for things that you mostly have control over.
By Matt Mayberry Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
"If you had to pick one quality that someone needs to possess, what would that be?" someone recently asked me.
After I was forced to give just one answer, I said, "If I had to pick just one quality, it would be taking complete and full responsibility for your life."
Yes, there are a plethora of different qualities and habits that must be developed to truly become great, but there is no better starting point than taking complete responsibility for your life.
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We live in a world where maximum results are expected with minimal effort given. If something goes wrong, it's someone else's fault. If you're not happy financially, it's the economy's fault. If you're not happy in your marriage, it's your partner's fault. If you're not being compensated as much as you would like, the company doesn't pay enough.
Any of those sound familiar? Chances are some hit home. It's human nature to blame circumstances or the next person instead of taking ownership. However, in order to live a truly exceptional life, you must put an end to this way of thinking immediately.
So how can we once and for all start taking complete responsibility of our lives? Here are three ways to help get you started.
1. Decide.
It all starts with a firm decision to do so. It sounds simple, but there is a very small percentage of people who actually make the decision to take responsibility for their lives. They keep going back to their old ways and lose sight of the fact that they are the ones in the driver seat.
Force yourself to stop looking outside of yourself for things you are in control of. It's a simple concept, but not easy by any stretch of the means. From here on out, make the firm decision that no single event or person is going to dictate your level of achievement.
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2. Stop playing the blame game.
A large number of men and women from all walks of life struggle with this one, including myself from time to time. As I mentioned above, what's easy to do is to blame your partner when a relationship gets shaky. What's easy to do is to blame the government for a lack of financial success.
It's absolutely imperative that you throw away every single excuse and start taking ownership in every area of your life. There is no way we can ever grab a hold of our lives completely when we are too caught up in the awful habit of playing the blame game.
3. Make a promise to yourself.
Something that has worked wonderfully for me is to write a simple creed on a notecard promising myself that taking complete responsibility for my life is something I will abide by every waking moment. It can be something as simple as, "I, Matt Mayberry, promise that I will never lose sight of taking full responsibility for my life."
Legacies have been built and history has been made by men and women who decided to take complete ownership of their lives. Are you ready to do the same?
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