Day # 47 - Personal Responsibility

This has always been a thing for me. Though I will admit I have been better at preaching it than practicing it. I became a father at age 19. I didn't to a great job of dealing with the responsibility, but I didn't abandon my family. My younger son was born a month before my 21st birthday. I was maturing by then but I still had a way to go. Now that I am a little older and a little more mature, I feel I do a much better job acting like a responsible, productive citizen. Well, maybe not just acting. I would like to think I really am responsible and productive.

I was reading an article in a magazine called, "Diversity, Inc." I receive it at home every month, probably because of my last name. But there was one of those articles we have all either read or heard about, telling us how bad fast food is for kids. The article criticized the fast food giants for marketing to kids. Not much mention of parental responsibility. I admit I only skimmed the article (only so much political correctness I can swallow)but it seemed to put the responsibility entirely on the corporations.

Where are the parents? If you plop your kid down in front of the TV for five or six or ten hours a day, your kid will see commercials, and fast food is the least of your concerns. Ever watch ABC "Family" on a Friday night? We watch Funniest Home Videos sometimes. While this is family entertainment, the shows they advertise are clearly not. I hold the remote control - and we are watching less often.

I am taking responsibility for the stuff my children watch. Four weeks ago I stopped eating fast food - my children are also off the stuff. I stopped soda, my kids still get some from their well-meaning grandparents, but they're getting less and none at home.

As a society, we spend too much time looking for other people to blame for our problems, whether it's our obesity, lack of success, a bad marriage, a lousy career. Are you one of these people? I have been at times, but now I know I am in control. Next time you complain about something, anything - stop and really take a look at what the problem is. Accept that only you can change your life and then get to changing it.

Lessons:

- Successful people take responsibility for their actions.
- Look inward for the answers
- Whether your situation is your fault or not (and it probably is) it's your responsibility to fix it. Waiting around for a rescue is a great way to waste your life.

Today's Declarations:

- Day by day in every way I am getting better and better.
- I am responsible for my life. I decide which way it goes.
- Today, I will take responsibility for my situation and I will live the life I have always wanted.

Get off your butt and do it. You are responsible for your life. You decide whether it's going to be good or bad, whether you are happy or miserable. Taking responsibility equals taking control!

Make it your best day yet. God bless you.

- Adolfo

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