As a teacher, I see the game played out every day. It’s almost instinctual for kids:
“I didn’t get my agenda signed because my mom was busy last night.”
“He pushed me first!”
“Someone took my pencil.”
“My homework’s not done because I had a soccer game after school.”
Each day, at least one of them has some kind of line like this to serve as an excuse for something they have failed to do. In 5th graders, it’s understandable.
As we grow up, we get pretty good at the game. We learn quickly to stop pinning the blame on scapegoats who can protest, who can deny their responsibility for our failures, and instead turn to those forces outside of our control, the ones that can’t talk back. If not for those things, our lives would be perfect.
“I was late because of traffic.”
“Work/school’s got me so busy!”
“I’d be more productive if my work schedule was different.”
“I just don’t have time these days.”
The beauty of the blame game is that it allows you to let yourself off the hook. It allows you to sit in the passenger seat, at the mercy of a world you can’t control. It’s easier to be a passive recipient of the slings and arrows of life.
It also sucks.
It takes work to refuse to play the game. It takes discipline and vigilance, and absolute honesty about what your priorities are. When you stop playing the game, you have to see yourself for what you really are, as the sum of the choices and excuses you make for yourself. It’s uncomfortable.
Taking responsibility is risky. It means you have to to be the one to deal with the problems and challenges. You are the one on the hook when things go wrong or get hard.
On the other hand, taking responsibility also means getting to take control.
Once you walk away from this game everyone else is playing, you get to be in charge. We’ve all got the same number of hours in our days. You may as well decide how yours are used.
- Joy Sprimont
Spend 10 minutes working on handstand skills
16 min AMRAP
10 pull-ups
10 burpees
10 HSPU
10 box jumps (24/20)
Posted on 03/03/2017 at 12:00 AM
