Considering Personal Responsibility — What It Is and How Can It Enhance Our Experience of Everyday Life

We often think of personal responsibility in simple, even transactional, terms, where we are largely considering the minimum that must be done in a given environment for us to have fulfilled an obligation or requirement. In doing this we often overlook the truth that we exist within community and are connected to one another. Sometimes we don’t think we have much of a choice, so we resort to following the necessary societal rules and fail to recognize other integral actions that could lead to an enhanced experience of life. 

While many of us go to the list of “must dos” when it comes to responsibility, the fuller meaning of the word includes the idea of recognizing opportunity within a given circumstance and then exercising your own ability to act upon or respond to that opportunity independent from any outer authority. Responsibility is a quality connected to empowerment and integrity. When we are fully present and engaged in life, wholly connected and operating from our true center, we more readily recognize the opportunities for us to make a choice and take personal responsibility. We can also better discern what the full spectrum of choice is and decide on a course of action that is aligned both with our own inner compass and considers the greater good. 

In this article, we’ll take a look at how we can better discern what choice we have that we may not first see and examine how acting with courage and conviction that comes from connections with our true self and with true community lead us toward a more positive experience of our everyday lives—even in times of collective change. Let’s consider personal responsibility in the context of our relationship to ourselves, to family and friends, to the larger community, to nature and to the global community.

Responsibility and the Self 

If we are fortunate to be raised in families who love us, we begin to learn about taking responsibility for ourselves as children. Over time, we come to see that not only do we need to ensure we are eating well and dressing ourselves, but we also need to take responsibility for our thoughts and emotions, for the care of our souls and for the choices we make every day and how those impact our health and well-being. 

We also come to see the value of knowing where the boundaries are between ourselves as an individual and the needs and desire of others. The invitation is to become clear with personal boundaries. 

Here are some questions to consider:

• What aspects of my life am I taking full responsibility for? What is the degree of wholeness and connection in each area? Consider physical, emotional, mental, financial, intellectual and spiritual well-being. How can I show up more fully in terms of my responsibility for and to myself?

• Where does my personal responsibility begin and end? Who am I connected to? Who am I in community with? Who am I responsible for and how can I demonstrate my responsibility? What boundaries need shoring up? Which ones need loosening?
• What is my responsibility to myself on a daily basis? What additional responsibilities do I feel and discern based on current circumstances?

Responsibility in Family and Friend Relationships 

Our closest connections with family and friends gives us context for our lives. Ideally, it also provides a sense of belonging. We are responsible for our own actions and yet there may be others who may depend on us to get their needs met. These responsibilities come packaged in many forms. For example, if you have children, as a parent you are responsible for ensuring that your children’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs are met. If there are elderly or disabled family members who need our help, we bear responsibility for ensuring they have what is needed. Even where others are fully capable of taking responsibility for their lives, there is opportunity for a range of choices we can make in our relationships that will lead us to a fuller experience of those relationships. 

Here are some questions to consider: 

• How am I presently putting effort into nurturing and maintaining relationships with family and friends? Am I expressing the gratitude I feel for these relationships? Am I making choices that show how much I value these relationships?

• Who in my circle of family and friends most needs my support right now? Do they know that I care? How can I show up creatively and genuinely? How can I tap my ability to respond?

• Who has been there for me? Have I told them how much that has meant to me? Do they know how their choice to invest in me and my well-being has made a difference? How can I be more responsible in my communication and connection with those who mean so much to me?

Each of us bears a responsibility for the creation of True Community through our choice to tend to and nurture the quality of our relationships with ourselves and others. Wholly Connected

Responsibility in the Context of Community

We have a choice about whether or not to be engaged in our community. As a citizen of a local community, a state or a nation, we demonstrate our concern for the welfare of all in many ways. A few examples: exercising our right to vote, volunteering, taking part in community-wide discussions and supporting local businesses and organizations. 

Here are some questions to consider:

• What is your responsibility to your community? How can you become more responsible as a citizen? Make a list of key actions and dedicate time and energy to the range of choices you can make. Then, decide and act in integrity with who you are and what you value most. Consider a variety of ways you can exercise responsibility, from voicing your opinions about government and local leadership to making choices that keep your community clean and beautiful and a place where the arts and opportunities for the experience of community are valued.
• Do you show up in community? Or do you see yourself as separate from your local community or the region or country you call home? How could you choose a path of responsibility as a citizen of these places? How might you broaden your connection to community by choosing a new way of engagement, connecting with and learning from teenagers or the elderly or another group within your community that you do not normally come into contact with?

• What very simple actions could you take in your daily life to invest in community? Could you smile more at strangers? Could you help someone in need? Could you slow down and allow space for another? Could you support local business owners and organizations whose livelihoods have been affected by recent economic and societal challenges?

Responsibility in Relation to the Natural World

We are all one humanity. This earth is our shared home. So often, we take that for granted, don’t we? Sometimes, in our prioritization of other things we see and experience as more pressing, we can become disconnected from the natural environment. We have a responsibility to care for our environment. Examining our level of personal responsibility in this area is important, too. 

Here are some questions to consider:

• What do you see as your personal responsibility in caring for the earth? What choices can you make to protect and honor natural resources? What one simple action can you take this week to be more responsible in this area of life? 

• Do you take time to connect deeply with nature? What do you receive and learn when you do? Does this support your connection to your true self and to others? Consider the benefits of prioritizing connection with the natural world. 

• How am I contributing to the conservation of natural resources and ensuring through my day-to-day choices? Am I clear about how my actions support a reality where these resources will be replenished and restored so that future generations will have this same gift? 

• Have I given up on nature? How is it that nature never gives up on me? How might I show up in this area with greater responsibility for caring for the natural environment?

Responsibility and the Global Community

So much is happening in our world that, at times, we feel overwhelmed. This can lead to a complacency with regard to the broader connections or even isolation, particularly in times such as those we find ourselves in now. Responsibility is not the same thing as activism. Nor is it a diminishment of our connection to our local community and what is happening inside smaller circles of belonging. 

Instead, when we realize we are connected to one family of humanity, we begin to consider how our choices in our local community or daily lives have a ripple effect. As we come to deeper self-awareness, our sense of “otherness” is diminished and we begin to work together for a better world. 

Here are some questions to consider:

• What can I learn today about pressing needs around the globe? As I expand my horizons through travel and learning about other cultures or places, how can I allow this learning to inform my choices and ability to respond to global events and happenings? 

• What global issues matter to me personally? How can I take some action that responds to one of these issues? For example, could you use your true voice to speak or write about this, whether publicly or in a conversation with friends? Could you donate money to those working for sustainability and viable solutions in this area? Might you apply your creative gifts in a way that draws greater attention to this issue? There are many possibilities for personal responsibility when it comes to global issues.

As we expand our awareness of the world and understand how we fit into the world contextually, we are awakened to our personal responsibility to the global community. Our heightened sense of belonging at a global level awakens us to our responsibility to make the world a better place for all. Wholly Connected

We are all connected. This means our actions have much more impact than we might first believe. Developing a strong sense of responsibility through greater awareness of the range of choice in any circumstance and a willingness to take decisive action rooted in wholeness leads us back to true community. Our ability to respond will determine the degree to which we contribute to a fuller experience of our own lives and the lives of those around us. 

Why do we choose a path of personal responsibility? We take personal responsibility because we care for ourselves, for friends and family, for our local community, for the earth which is our home, and for the world we are creating as a whole humanity. When each of us assumes responsibility for our actions from a sense of our own connection with our true self and the communities to which we belong, we all become stronger. 

One choice at a time you are making a difference. What any one of us chooses matters. As we tap the ability to respond through a deeper reconsideration, we receive the reward of feeling in integrity with our deepest values. In time, we experience the gifts of true community and the world becomes a better place.