Maturity being the lengthy process it is, taking responsibility for your own behavior cannot be a standard attribute of youthful endeavors, but appears as a mark of extensive life experiences. The blame for poor life choices are easiest placed at the feet of others, as components of the character flaws that present in other individuals, but never ourselves. This denial allows us to exist with our self-respect in tact, especially at a young age, and lets our self-esteem remain untarnished at a time in life when personal emotions are frail and our image of ourselves is less than accurate in it’s assessment.
The burden of accepting responsibility for our personal behavior usually comes after one or more serious circumstances in which the blame cannot be placed anywhere except upon on own shoulders. A thinking person will eventually mull over choices and results in their mind after the fact, and the things that could have and should have been done differently become obvious. With time to consider facts of a particular situation in more depth, the responsibility for our actions become apparent in the outcome derived as a direct result of our own behaviors. It is at this point we begin to fully understand the impact of our own actions on every circumstance in life, and start to intellectually analyze our behaviors before acting.
Most individuals begin learning to take responsibility for their own behavior about the same time they leave home for the first time, and the safety net of parental intervention is removed from daily life. Even at the young age of 18 years, we are adults in the eyes of society and therefore legally responsible for our actions, and the penalties to pay for apathy or ignorance are our own to bear. When the realization sets in that we are alone and without a constant helping hand to remedy our personal issues, we become aware of the seriousness of our responsibilities and how it is a solely an individual task to cope and respond.
Everyone learns to take responsibility at their own pace, and with a little luck, without tremendously dramatic situations resulting in horrific consequences. A small amount of suffering the impact of poor personal behavior is a good learning tool, and will tend to speed the process of maturity considerably to a positive conclusion. The unfortunate fact is that some people will never learn to take responsibility for their own behavior until it is too late. Criminal behavior, drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence could all be reduced within society if awareness of personal responsibility were a more punctuated component of the educational system.
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