Accepting responsibility for our behavior is not always easy. Making excuses when someone brings something out our attention that we did wrong is easy.
I have finally achieved success in trying to teach my 7-Year-Old Daughter the critical difference between accepting ownership when we do something wrong or even in a less-than-ideal manner.
She used to say "I Forgot" automatically and passionately whenever I would have to discipline her for not doing something properly. This to me implied that she was not accepting responsibility for her actions and not making a mental note to improve or avoid making the same mistake going forward. Which is exactly what kept happening, consistently, and to my dismay and frustration.
After Months of my pleading and educating her on the critically important difference between saying in a flippant manner "I Forgot" and, as a healthier and more beneficial manner, saying "I Chose Not To," she finally understands the difference. She know properly responds "I Chose Not To."
The former ("I Forgot" to clean my room; to bring the dishes to the Kitchen; to put my toys away; etc.) conveys a quick excuse with no responsibility assumed or commitment made to improving in the future.
The ladder ("I Chose Not To") conveys her realization that she needs to accept complete ownership of her actions and that she has the ability to focus on certain matters as needed to improve and avoid making the same mistake twice.
Life Lesson For Us All: Always accept responsibility for our actions and the outcomes we achieve. Excused get us nowhere and actually hurt us be not allowing us to improve, consistently, and as needed to work toward the goal of being the best we can be in life.
Making mistakes is human; not accepting responsibility and making recurring mistakes is unnecessary, hurts us in life and our pursuit of career goals, and is a detriment to our Growth and Personal Improvement.
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