It seems that taking responsibility makes life harder. In fact, on the contrary, it makes it easier. You stop worrying about something that could go wrong. You stop being afraid of the variability of the world. Because the main thing still depends on you. And not from passing currents. This is not the inflated ego of the storm lord. This is a mature and beneficial position. So much weight goes with this! A buzzing swarm of all sorts of “what ifs,” “what ifs,” fear for the future, paralysis in the face of mistakes. Here are phrases that mark a typical loss of responsibility: “I need to do this right now. What if I get lazy later?” “If I decide to do this, everything will go wrong, and there will be nowhere to go.” “I won’t relearn. What if I realize later that this is not what I want?” They reek of doom. As if there is something that decides for you. Some force will come and make you lazy. She gives and she takes away. Counts your years and determines when it will end. Your whole life is rewards or punishments. Luck, pendulums, ebbs and flows. You don't decide much on your own. Wait. Aren't you the one deciding what to do right now? For example, read this text. Or what to do after. When you find yourself in any circumstances, don’t you decide how to act in them? What to spend, what to save, how to manage what is available to you. You. Even if you don’t notice it. Or today. There is a danger of becoming infected with this rubbish just like that, by accident. But the more you protect yourself, the less likely it is. It is you who take responsibility for your protection, although an invisible infection scurries everywhere like a flock of dementors. Your life consists of your own choices. For many, this banal sedition causes powerful rejection. And it’s clear why. There are things that you can’t even think about choosing in your right mind. And yet. Is a person responsible for the violence committed against him? Is this also a choice? No. Violence is not a choice (with rare, creepy exceptions). But we still choose how to deal with it. And when you were a child, did you decide everything too? Yes, I was a dependent brat who was forced into conditions! Be grateful that you are alive at all! No, I didn’t consciously decide. Responsibility is a trait of a mature psyche. Is a person responsible for his feelings? After all, if I fell in love or despaired, then I’m just carried away and that’s all. Not for the feelings themselves. As for how to express them - yes. Sorry. There is more choice than it seems. And in a store this is not always good, but in life it’s generally a guard. I myself ran away from responsibility for a long time, dreaming of hiding. I tried to deny it, to outweigh it with arguments. And now I'm happy to be responsible. Because I stopped wasting a lot of energy fighting vague mills in a vague future. We don’t care how many decisions we make within at least ten minutes. Something just seems to happen. Much has been automatic for a long time. But everything is automatic, again - a consequence of the choices made once. And that then some Power will come and say: “That’s it. Your time to decide has expired”? No. If I now accept responsibility for what I do, I will continue to accept it in the future. What can stop me? All sorts of “suddenly” and “if” are happening right now and I act calmly. Only for some reason in the future these “suddenly” and “if” seem inaccessible like mountains, strong like hurricanes. Something that will break my will and cancel my ability to decide. Isn't this strange? I decided before. I'm deciding now. I'll decide later. Why would this suddenly change??