Accept Responsibility

July is the month where I take back control. Accept Responsibility is a chance for me to be more authoritative about decisions, perceptive of my own needs, and take back responsibility from the world.

It’s about giving yourself permission to make your own decisions. It’s not up to the rest of the world whether you fail or succeed; it’s up to you. You are ultimately responsible for attaining the life you want.

Attaining happiness, the very aim of the Romeo Project, is something that we ourselves are responsible for. I need to stop relying on others for my happiness.

“It is a painful thing to look at your own trouble and know that you yourself and no one else has made it.” - Sophocles

I am responsible for my past, present and future.
It’s difficult to ever make any positive progress with mental illness if you don’t take responsibility for looking after yourself. I remember lying stiffly in the fetal position in bed, unwashed and unfed, waiting for someone to come and save me. Someone to show me how to live again. I was always looking for that someone who could save me. I never thought myself capable of being my own hero.

I have always talked about the role outside forces play in my depression. And that’s still true; they often do. But it’s important to move the focus away from what I cannot control to how I react to these outside forces. For too long I have put the blame on outside sources for how I feel and what happens to me. The reality is that we are responsible for our own destiny. Our mindset can move mountains.
If I feel like it’s not up to me then I won’t be prepared or work hard. But if I change my mindset and say ‘Yes, it is up to me’ then I have a drive and determination to succeed that I didn’t have before.

How we react to life’s events is something we DO have control over. And it's something I hope to explore in-depth during the month.
There is no quick-fix magic formula for depression - it takes work and time. I am responsible for finding my own path to recovery. I am responsible for my own healing and growth. I am the one responsible for getting myself through a depressive episode.

Taking responsibility makes action possible.

Wish me luck as I venture forth on my journey of personal growth.

Until next time,