I Take Responsibility
An activity for learning to take responsibility
Getting Ready
| Duration | 12 minutes |
| Materials |
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| Treatment Modality | Individual and Group |
| Frequency | We recommend practicing this activity at least 3 times a week. |
| Other helpful topics to use this activity for |
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The What
So, you say you want to be in control of your own decisions and actions? What you are really wanting is your independence. Typically, you start gaining your independence when you choose to take responsibility in the form of house chores and duties. As you grow older, you will be expected to take personal ownership of your own actions and the consequences of that behavior. Most of us, even as adults have difficulty accepting personal responsibility. Unfortunately, until you accept responsibility for your actions or failures, it’ll be challenging for you to develop self-respect or even have the respect of others.
Most of you have learned from the false messages sent to you that, failure and mistakes are a sign of ignorance, weakness, and prone to isolation. As a result, you are now afraid of failing and being rejected. Therefore, you would rather stay safe and not take any responsibility than to risk taking a chance on life that could most likely make you a happier person.
Once this habit of refusing to accept personal responsibility is maintained as a result of fear, your character is slowly transformed. You may tend to become someone who is irresponsible, a quitter, reliant on others, disturbed, unhappy, hopeless, angry, irrational, and defiant or even depressed. These qualities can suppress your ability to achieve your best and happiest life.
Also, your inability to accept responsibility is as a result of insecurity. These insecurities can trigger doubt about your own abilities, which weakens your self-confidence. In this such state of mind, you begin to have a great need to be right at all times to compensate for what you falsely feel or believe you are lacking; you then defend your every action, right or wrong. By taking responsibility, you may feel or falsely believe that you are admitting to being weak, powerless, or risking the possibility of losing the respect of others. It may cause you to feel that you are missing a sense of value and importance.
Well, we’ve got news for you! On the contrary, taking responsibility earns you respect. We, human beings, are not built to be perfect, and we are created to make mistakes. There are so many valuable lessons learned from making mistakes. In fact, you will learn as you transition into adulthood, that most of your success had manifested from the lessons learned from the mistakes you made. And so, when you accept responsibility, you are accepting the blame for your actions and also allowing the responsibility for making improvements in your life. Accepting responsibility is a measure of your self-worth, maturity, personal growth, your level of confidence, the true sign of strength and courage.
The How
The following Guided Affirmations activity helps to develop and enhance your ability to take personal responsibility for your actions. The activity is constructed in such a way, that it also helps raise self-confidence, focus, clarity, and direction.
Position: For affirmations, we recommend standing up because it keeps you in a “motivated” and “excited” state. You can also do affirmations sitting down. For longer guided affirmations, you will be sitting down. Sit upright/straight on your chair with your feet touching the ground uncrossed, or limbs crossed (Indian style) on the floor. You can grab your headphones if you have them. If not, merely play these guided affirmations on your electronic device so that you can get the best sound system.
Let's Begin
Gentle reminder: This is a guided affirmations activity using audio and video. You do not need to print or read the following instructions. The steps to this activity are provided to you in written form, only should you wish to read through them voluntarily. In other words, reading the following activity instructions and steps are optional. They are written in ‘casual’ and ‘conversation’ language in which it was recorded.
Thank you for choosing this activity for guided affirmations for raising self-confidence and cultivating a positive attitude in your life now. Affirmations are used to reprogram our subconscious mind, to encourage us to believe certain things about ourselves or about the world and our place within it. They are also used to help us create the reality we want to see in ourselves and in our lives.
Affirmations help become more in tune with your thoughts and how you feel about yourself. Affirmations help you tap into your subconscious mind and transform all your unhealthy habits. They allow you to have a clearer mind, bring focus, and will enable you to practice self-discipline so that you can have more joyful experiences in life.
You do not have to write anything down for this activity. You will be directly following my instructions.
When you are ready, take a seat in a safe, peaceful, comfortable, and quiet place.
- Tap the top of your head three times with your right hand: you are acknowledging and activating your mind/brain energy.
- Tap the center of your chest with your left hand: you are acknowledging/activating your heart energy.
- Squeeze the center of both of your hands and your fingers: you are acknowledging/activating the energy of your ‘giving- and receiving’ hands.
- Place your hands on your lap with palms facing up. Keep your legs uncrossed.
- Close your eyes.
- Take 3 deep breaths: Slowly inhale through your nose expanding your belly, exhale all the air out slowly through your mouth. (count them)
And now, place your left hand on the middle of your chest. Using your index finger and middle finger in your right hand, gently tap three times the space between your eyebrows. Rest your right hand on your lap facing up. And repeat after me:
- Being responsible is one of my core values.
- I accept responsibility for all of my choices.
- I allow others to be responsible for their own thoughts, words, actions, and results.
- I am not responsible for how others see me or what they think of me.
- I am responsible for choosing all my words, actions, emotions, and results.
- I am responsible for how I act and react in any situation.
- I am responsible for how I show up in life.
- I am responsible for learning and acquiring the skills, tools, and resources to live my ideal life.
- I am responsible for living a life that is true to what I believe in.
- I am responsible for my attitude.
- I am responsible for my belief in myself.
- I am responsible for my daily habits.
- I am responsible for my happiness.
- I am responsible for my problems and solutions.
- I am responsible for my reflection but not for your perception.
- I am responsible for the planet and its creatures.
- I am responsible for what I accomplish in life.
- I am responsible for what I allow from others.
- I am responsible for who I am.
- I am responsible for who I surround myself with.
- I embrace responsibility
- I honor my commitment to be responsible, regardless of challenges, and even when I don’t feel like doing it.
- I step fully into self-responsibility
- I take full responsibility for my life so that I may live my dreams.
- I take responsibility for my dreams.
- I take responsibility for my setbacks and come-backs.
- It’s my responsibility to make amends to those I have abused, misused, lied to or abandoned.
- Taking responsibility for my life empowers me.
- Today I take 100% responsibility for my life.
When you’re ready, take three deep breaths. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Sit still for a few minutes and reflect on what really resonated and agreed with you in this guided affirmation. Also, reflect on what didn’t agree with you and why you disagree with it. And, when you have completed reflecting, stretch and maybe journal your thoughts.
Thank you for showing up for yourself here. We really appreciate your efforts!
Have an amazing day!