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Personal Responsibility

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Personal Responsibility

Sara Jirsa

GEN/200

University of Phoenix

Personal Responsibility

Wilson (2012), defines Personal Responsibility as, “a person’s response-ability, that is, the ability of a person to maturely respond to the various challenges and circumstances of life” (para. 1). To me, personal responsibility means all of this plus more. It means being able to hold yourself accountable for your actions, knowing when to say yes or no in a situation, and knowing the limits of your own capabilities. I believe that if a person is able to acquire personal responsibility, they are more likely to be successful in all aspects of their lives. A quote I once heard sums up the meaning of personal responsibility to me; “it doesn’t matter how many times you fall, it’s how many times you get back up that matters.” If you, as a student, are taking responsibility for your work, and making sure you are completing assignments and completing them on time, you should be successful in college. The more responsible that a person is for themselves, the more driven they are going to possibly be to reach the goals they set out for themselves. This is especially true for college students. It can be easy to not attend class or not finish assignments because there is no parent or boss telling you that you have to; you only have yourself that you are responsible for in college.

One way students can show personal responsibility is by being on time. Being on time with an assignment and/or being punctual to class is a great way to show personal responsibility. When you turn in an assignment late or are late to an interview or even your job, you are showing that you are not a responsible student, potential employee, or current employee. Being on time and punctual can give you positive results in all areas of your life.

Personal responsibility, whether for yourself or another, is being able to recognize a problem and take care of it. For example, if you make a mistake on a class assignment or on a job assignment, you need to take responsibility for your mistake. After taking responsibility, you should determine how to correct it. Sometimes, we can figure out how to correct it ourselves, other times we need to reach out and ask someone who may have more knowledge of the situation.

It is also extremely important, in order to be a responsible person, to be able to ask for help when you need it. Often times, we would like to think that we know all of the answers but in reality there are many times when we need to reach out and ask for help. Teamwork is very important in the job place these days, and being able to ask another person for help when you need it shows that you are a team player. Knowing when to ask for help is going to be an important strength and quality to have, especially in the workplace.

Personal Responsibility allows a person to feel a sense of accomplishment and empowerment when done with a task. Most of the time when a person puts their own hard work into things in life such as their education or their career, they build their own self-confidence. I think that when a person works for something in life, they appreciate it more than if they are just handed something. When you accomplish a goal and know that it took hard work and responsibility to achieve it, it gives you the empowerment to create new and bigger goals for yourself.

Time management is a strength that you must have in education and in the workplace. Being on time to your job, or turning in class assignments on time shows that you are responsible employee and student. There are so many things as an adult that can get in the way of us accomplishing our school work and even sometimes accomplishing tasks at our jobs. This is especially true if you are going back to school as an adult. Kids, family, and current careers can throw a wrench in our plans to study or work on class assignments so we really need to practice the use of time-management. Showing that we can use our time wisely not only to get things done in our personal lives, but also in our jobs and our education, shows that you can be responsible for yourself.

Being able to be disciplined in your life also ties in with being able to manage your time wisely. You have to be able to say no when it comes to participating in certain activities in your life when you know that you have work to do on your class assignments. It is often difficult to say no when an opportunity presents itself and sounds much more intriguing than sitting and writing a paper for your class. However, being able to be disciplined and get your class work or homework assignments done, shows that you can be a responsible person and student. You may also encourage others around you to be more disciplined just by setting that example.

One of the most important things you need when showing personal responsibility is dedication. Bilanch (2012), states that a person needs to, “set high goals-and then do whatever it takes to achieve them” ( para. 3). Setting high goals and doing whatever it takes to achieve them is what dedication is all about. A person has to be dedicated to showing that they are responsible. If a person is not concerned with showing personal responsibility then their dedication to their education will probably be lacking as well. When something like you education is extremely important to you, you will be dedicated to doing whatever it takes to accomplish your goals and show that you are responsible for yourself and for your actions.

My preliminary plan to practice personal responsibility in my education is to turn my assignments in on time, to not fall behind on my coursework, and to ask for help when I need it. I refuse to procrastinate when it comes to my class assignments because I am motivated to finish my degree as an investment in my future. I will show my personal responsibility by using time management skills, being disciplined, and asking for help or clarification when needed. Once I have accomplished the goal that I have set for my education, I will feel very accomplished and empowered to continue my education and pursue my career.

References

Bilanch, Bud (2012). Take Responsibility for Your Career Success. Retrieved from http://www.careerealism.com/responsibility-career-success/#!4Rxhu

Wilson, Len (2012). A Great Definition of Personal Responsibility. Retrieved from http://lenwilson.us/personal-responsibility/

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