“Take responsibility for your actions.”
I cannot stand when people play the victim or blame others for their failures. Taking responsibility for yourself is something I tell my kids often.
I would even shorten it to “take responsibility.” It’s the idea of teaching my kids ownership but also of thinking about others.
When my kids complain about having to do certain chores such as picking up their room or cleaning dishes they will respond with, “Why do I have to?”
I respond with, “If not you then who? Dad? Why do I have to do it?” Then I pull out the dad motivation and say, “Alright, well I will just throw it away if no one wants it.” It’s amazing how fast they move after that.
Take responsibility and think of others.
The goal is to get my kids to change their way of thinking from, “I have to pick this up or else dad will get upset with me.” to “I should pick this up because it’s the right thing to do and a bonus is that it might even make dad happy.”
By not taking responsibility you are pushing the issue onto someone else, who then is forced to pick up your slack.
And it’s not just about doing everything because no one else will. It’s about doing the right thing so others know they can count on you. Not only that you will gain the respect of others because you did your part rather than making more work for them.