Personal Responsibility Robert Sternberg, Thomas Edison, and the Wright brothers all have one thing in common, they all failed numerous of times before becoming one of the most powerful and influential men in history. Before Robert Sternberg became one of the most recognized men in psychology, he received a “C” in his college psychology class and discouragement from his instructor. Thomas Edison made numerous unsuccessful attempts before finally inventing the light bulb. Years of hard work and failed prototypes led to the Wright brothers’ innovative invention of the airplane, which changed today’s world. Sternberg, Edison, and the Wright brothers didn’t get discouraged from their failures but instead held themselves accountable to their success. In doing so, it cultivated the necessary skills, attitude, and character that are crucial to their individual successes. In college, students will experience setbacks and obstacles as well. It can be the most overwhelming experience in a student’s life. In comparison to Sternberg, Edison and the Wright brothers, a student’s key to academic success is personal responsibility. Personal responsibility is the most important underlying component to a student’s academic success because it cultivates the necessary skills, attitude, and character of a student. Students learn to be disciplined, live a well-balanced life, and take charge of their future because it is up to them to do what is necessary in order to succeed academically. Personal responsibility means taking individual accountability for one’s own actions. To be personally responsible is an important factor in all aspects of our lives whether work, school, or with our family. As stated by Galindo and Versera Performance Consulting (2009), “Being accountable for your own actions means showing that you are willing to answer for the outcomes that result from your choice, behaviors, and actions.” (Ch: The Accountability Quotient, Pt 3). Personal responsibility is accepting the consequences of one’s actions that resulted from their own choices, actions, and behaviors. We have no one to blame but ourselves for our own choices and actions. By holding ourselves accountable, we are able to dictate the outcome of our own actions and determine the consequences. Thus, only we are able to accept the consequences of our own actions. Personal responsibility is important because we are putting the faith of our future in our own hands and not anyone else’s. As a student, personal responsibility is what drives academic success because it shapes a student’s values, attitude, skills, and character. “Together with measure of self-concept and self-determination, self-efficacy contributes to our understanding of a student’s ability to interact with his or her collegiate environment and to experience academic success.” (Murray. 2006, p. 8). A student’s behavior, drive, goals, motivation, determination, and confidence is what ultimately leads to their choices and actions, which determines the academic success of a student. Our moral and ethical values determine the decisions that we make in school based on our individual perspectives. These decisions that we make as students determines our success academically. By holding ourselves accountable, we also develop our attitude and approach towards our own education. A student with a positive attitude as well as an open-mind is more likely to succeed than a student who has a negative and relenting attitude. For instance, Sternberg, Edison, and the Wright brothers didn’t get discouraged with their failures but instead they worked harder and persevered. They used their failures as their determination to succeed. Personal responsibility also helps cultivate the skills and character of a student. Such students hold themselves accountable by being on time, attending all their classes, communicating with the instructor, participating in class, utilizing all resources available to them, and turning in assignments on time. In doing so, these students learn to be disciplined, have good study habits, manage their time well, and live a well-balanced life. Personal responsibility is what defines a student and determines their success because it cultivates the necessary skills, attitude, and character of a student. In order to ensure success academically, I will hold myself accountable for my own actions by showing up to all my classes on time as well as letting my instructors and academic advisor know if I will be missing class. I will create good study habits by avoiding procrastination, doing my assignments, and submitting them in a timely fashion. In order to maintain balance in my life and ensure that I have sufficient time for studying and homework, I will manage my time effectively. To reach my maximum potential as a student, I will be attentive in class and participate in class discussions. I will also utilize all the resources available to me such as the online library as well as communicate with my instructor in order to ensure that I understand the course material. By implementing these activities, it will help guide me as a student through academic success.
As students, it is up to us to do what is necessary to achieve academic success. The most important underlying component to a student’s academic success is personal responsibility because it cultivates the necessary skills, attitude, and character of a student. Success isn’t achieved overnight but only through hard work and perseverance. Our own actions, decisions, and attitude determine our success. Personal responsibility shapes and defines who we are as a student and who we will become. Successful men and women in today’s word all have a common denominator, which is that they all held themselves accountable for their successes. Personal responsibility enables us to take charge of our own future and ensure our own successes. Success doesn’t merely exist without its key component, which is personal responsibility.

References
Galindo L., & Versera Performance Consulting. (2009). [University of Phoenix Custom Edition eBook] : Jossey Bass Ltd, (Ch: The Accountability Quotient, Pt 3). Retrieved from University of Phoenix, Business Ethics, Responsibility, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS, Leadership, Business ethics website.
Murray, M. C. (2006). Reframing responsibility for academic success: A causal model measuring the impact of student attributes in the first year of college. University of Phoenix Library.