It’s been a while. Seems like all these days, weeks, months, I am hibernating. I wake up every now and then, check up on myself if I am still sane (haha) and when I do, I speak my thoughts. So there, welcome back to my blog! Now, I will talk about what I learned just today – taking ownership and responsibility of your behavior dictates your growth.

Taking Ownership and Responsibility

I recently talked with a good friend and he shared his bad experience yesterday – a hit-and run accident. Well, this actually triggered me to write this post. Luckily, it only caused a small dent on his car. He tried to catch the driver who tried to run away after hitting his car. I could only imagine how clouded his mind with anger while talking to me about the experience. He really couldn’t take it! The next thing he knew he was driving too fast breaking the speed limit of a two-lane road and overtaking cars. He is still justifying that his actions are just a result of what that driver did to him, but does it really have to be that way? I’m not against running after the driver, but acting on impulse can potentially lead to danger. What if he meets another accident? Is it worth the chase? What happened to him was a clear example that anger and impulsivity go hand in hand.

This leads me to talking about taking ownership and responsibility. There are two types. First, own the issues brought to you. Second, own the decisions you make.

Own the issues brought to you…

What separates a leader from the rest is how he responds to people bringing their own issues to him. When someone approach us to bring up an issue, especially at work, and we realize that it is out of the scope of our job, what a normal person will do is to pass him to someone more knowledgeable about it. Next thing is to forget about it.

Jeff: Hi there! I need help. I want to have my aircon repaired.
Adrian: I'm sorry. I don't repair aircon.
Neill: I'm sorry. I don't repair aircon.
But, I know someone who does.
Would you like me to take you there?

But, what does a true leader do?

A true leader own the issues brought to him and redirects them to the other person if applicable. We could easily say, “It’s not my problem!”, but the magic is the action we make right after we say that. “Let me find somebody who can help you.” It doesn’t end there, he follows through to check if that someone really has his problem solved. That actually gets the job done.

If we are like this, there is a sense of fulfillment inside. We may not be the actual person who does the fixing, but the fact that we become the bridge for someone to solve his problem is fulfilling.

Own the decisions you make…

A lot of times we make plans for our lives. We make dreams and set goals. In whatever we are trying to accomplish, we need to be firm and succinct. However, most of us forget about this – learn from our own mistakes.

Be honest. Learn from your mistakes.

In every thing we do, we try to strive for perfection. But, perfection does not exist. When you are able to learn this, it makes it easier to accept that we all make mistake because it is part of our growth in this so-called life.

Run from your mistakes.

Try to justify them.

Pass the blame to others.

Sweep your mistakes under the rug.

Be humble. Take courage to admit when you are wrong. Also, do your best to make it right. Never make another mistake and layer it on top of the other.

Own your mistakes so that your mistakes will not own you.

This is how we grow and mature.

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Cha Esper

Cha of Little Misadvencha is a Filipino Civil Engineer, researcher and a fur mom. She came from General Santos City and finds that everything in life teaches her a lesson. She is inspired to write about and out of her experiences, but later found out that it was her experiences that actually inspire her.