Two Kinds of Responsibility (Part 2)

by Scott Noelle

(Cont’d from Part 1)

If you blame yourself for your child’s “misbehavior,” you’re under the influence of an obsolete worldview that confuses responsibility with blame.

One way to break the spell is by redirecting the blame to the worldview! To paraphrase a famous quotation: There is nothing to blame but blame itself.

Let yourself get really mad at “the system” and then use your anger to energize your shift into a worldview of connection and creativity, where taking responsibility feels empowering:

“I AM responsible because I decide how to respond to my child’s behavior! I don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks — it’s my responsibility, so it’s none of their business!

“And since I’m responsible, I choose to respond with compassion for my child AND myself. I can even appreciate the behavior, because I KNOW that my child is good to the core, and I have faith that this is just a part of my child’s process of becoming.

“In fact, I expect to enjoy responding creatively!”

Now that’s RESPONSE-ABLE. :)

Originally published on 2006-11-09
Share It !