Former United States president Theodore Roosevelt is credited with having authored this memorable quote:
“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”
While Roosevelt’s words certainly should make you chuckle, I hope they also make you stop and consider the truth in that statement. While we’d all probably like to blame other people or circumstances out of our control for our daily “troubles,” the truth is most of the time we are the ones primarily responsible for it.
Obviously there really are many issues created by others and by circumstances, but if we’re honest with ourselves, many of our daily irritations and disappointments stem from our own actions, inactions, and attitudes.
Think about it:
- You stayed up late wasting time online or in front of the TV, and so you overslept and are now fighting traffic, already late for work.
- You spent a few dollars here and a few dollars there on eating out and online shopping and suddenly you’re staring at a credit card bill with an extra zero at the end.
- You over committed yourself for an event at your child’s school the same day as another appointment and the looming arrival of dinner guests, and now you’re racing through your day already feeling frazzled and exhausted.
- You were annoyed and short-tempered toward a coworker, and now are feeling new tension in the office.
- You put off several chores and household tasks all week and now have a very long weekend to-do list when you really just want to relax.
- You declined help on a big project so you could do it your own way, and are now panicking about the looming deadline.
You get the point. Whatever it may be for you, chances are you’ve experienced some troubles lately for which you might feel like kicking… yourself!
While we all make poor choices and small mistakes from time to time, and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up over it, it is important to realize our own responsibility for those situations. Instead of trying to place the blame somewhere else, be honest, own it, and resolve to avoid that self-made trouble in the future!
