June 18, 2012 – Is an obligation a burden? Have you been given or taken on an added responsibility or obligation that was not a part of your original plan? Do you feel imposed upon and side-tracked by this additional thing you must now get done? Being trusted to take on additional responsibility is telling you that you are valued. However, if the responsibility being imposed or that you chose to accept is because someone else is shirking theirs, then it can be frustrating and draining. The key is to understand why it is important to you versus why it was neglected by someone else.
Take an MM&I Moment to list the reasons why fulfilling this obligation and being responsible is important and matters to you. If it is important to you, then don’t waste your energy focusing on what others are not doing. Instead, put your attention upon what you can and are doing. If the responsibility is more than you originally bargained for, then determine any aspect of it that can be shared even in the smallest of ways. If the responsibility is overwhelming you and feels like it is consuming you right now, take a moment to stop and understand why. Is it because you feel like you are in over your head? Then list what makes you feel this way and get answers, assistance or guidance. If the responsibility is not as important to you as it is to others who you care about, then rally them into the process. And if they are part of the problem and why you took on the responsibility to begin with, then perhaps it is time to allow them to fail in order for them to grow and ultimately be more responsible in the future. Sometimes not taking responsibility is the best thing you can do for someone.
Synergized Quote of the Week
“Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself” – Richard Bach
Yours in synergistic thinking,
Sherre'