MANY PEOPLE RARELY ASK THIS QUESTION. INSTEAD THEY WILL AUTOMATICALLY ASSUME THAT ANY PROBLEM THEY ARE HAVING MUST BE
SONEONE’S ELSE FAULT. IF THERE IS A DISAGREEMENT OR ARGUMENT, SURELY IT’S ANOTHER PERSON’S FAULT. IF SOMETHING WENT WRONG, SOMEONE ELSE MUST HAVE MADE THE MISTAKE INSTEAD OF THEMSELVES. IT SIMPLY NEVER HAPPENS TO MANY PEOPLE THAT SOMETHING IS THEIR FAULT. OR AT THE VERY LEAST, THAT THEY MAY BE PARTLY RESPONSIBLE. ON THE SURFACE, IT MIGHT SEEM NICE THAT WE‘RE NEVER TO BE BLAMED. THE PROBLEM, HOWEVER, WITH THIS NEVER BLAME ME PHILOSOPHY IS THAT YOU’LL RARELY BE ABLE TO PINPOINT THE ONE ASPECT OF PROBLEM SOLVING THAT IS TRULY SOLVABLE: AM I BEING HONEST WITH MY OWN PROBLEMS??? ONCE YOU ELIMINATE THE FEAR ASSOCIATED WITH ADMITTING THAT YOU ARE, AT TIMES, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PARTS OF YOUR LIFE THAT AREN’T WORKING WELL – YOU HAD ACTUALLY OPENED A WHOLE NEW DOOR OF POSSIBLITIES. ONCE YOU’RE WILLING TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROBLEMS IN YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL SEE OBVIOUS SOLUTIONS THAT JUST TAKE VERY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS TO IMPROVE. AT TIMES THERE’S A FINE LINE BETWEEN DOING SOMETHING REALLY WELL AND DOING SOMETHING REALLY BADLY. OFTEN TIMES, THE ONLY SOLUTION IS TO SIMPLY CHANGE SOMETHING YOU ARE DOING. IT’S REALLY NOT ALL THAT HELPFUL TO CONTEMPLATE THE FAULTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO PROBLEMS OF OTHERS. RARELY CAN YOU DO ANYTHING ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE AND THE WAY THEY HANDLE THINGS. HOWEVER, IT’S SO MUCH SIMPLER TO MAKE CHANGES IN OUR OWN RESPONSES. OBVIOUSLY, I’M NOT SUGGESTING THAT EVERYTHING IS YOUR FAULT, OR THAT YOU SHOULD SPEND ALL YOUR TIME AND ENERGY THINKING ABOUT YOUR FAULTS AND DRAWBACKS. WELL, JUST DON’T BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND. IF YOU TRULY WANT TO EXCEL IN YOUR LIFE, YOU MUST BE WILLING TO LOOK INTO THE MIRROR AND WITH GREAT HUMILITY AND HONESTY, REFLECT ON YOUR OWN CONTRIBUTIONS TO WHAT’S NOT GOING RIGHT IN YOUR LIFE. IN THIS WAY, ONLY YOU CAN THEN DO SOMETHING POSITIVE ABOUT IT.