Responsibility Quotes

Let’s.

“Remember that you are an actor in a play, playing a character according to the will of the playwright—if a short play, then it’s short; if long, long. If he wishes you to play the beggar, play even that role well, just as you would if it were a cripple, a honcho, or an everyday person. For this is your duty, to perform well the character assigned you. That selection belongs to another.”
Epictetus, via The Daily Stoic (Page 333)

“If you are willing to discipline yourself, the physical universe won’t need to discipline you.”
Leonard Orr, via Sunbeams (Page 137)

“For nothing outside my reasoned choice can hinder or harm it—my reasoned choice alone can do this to itself. If we would lean this way whenever we fail, and would blame only ourselves and remember that nothing but opinion is the cause of a troubled mind and uneasiness, then by God, I swear we would be making progress.”
Epictetus, Discourses, via The Daily Stoic (Page 246)

A Short Story About A Mom Who Had Enough—A Lesson For “No-Longer-Dependents”

Except: A short story about a mom who had enough. She was tired, irritable, and sick. And her family kept using her as a crutch. Here’s what she did.

Anything worth doing is worth doing right.

Choose Your Hard

“Marriage is hard. Divorce is hard. Choose your hard.
Obesity is hard. Being fit is hard. Choose your hard.
Being in debt is hard. Being financially disciplined is hard. Choose your hard.
Communication is hard. Not communicating is hard. Choose your hard.
Life will never be easy. It will always be hard. But we can choose our hard. Pick wisely.”
Unknown

Beyond the Quote (336/365)

We’re wired to follow the path of least resistance. But, choosing to do what’s easy now doesn’t last. In fact, in almost every case, it only makes life harder later. It’s the principle of delayed gratification (more on this below).

So, while life can be easier from choosing the easier options, the truth is, it’s only a temporary easier. Experiencing the “hard” in life is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. And take heed, hard now and hard later are not created equal.

“The most horrific things in life can be a source of nourishment if you accept, ‘I am responsible for the way I am now.’ It is possible to transform the greatest adversity into a stepping-stone for personal growth. If you take one hundred percent responsibility for the way you are now, a brighter tomorrow is a possibility. But if you take no responsibility for the present—if you blame your parents, your friend, your husband, your girlfriend, your colleagues for the way you are—you have forsaken your future even before it comes.”
Sadhguru, Inner Engineering (Page 58)

“Only if you realize you are responsible do you have the freedom to create yourself the way you want to be, not as a reaction to the situations in which you exist. Reactivity is enslavement. Responsibility is freedom. When you are able to create yourself the way you want, you can create your life the way you want as well. Your outer life may not be a hundred percent in your control, but your inner life always will.”
Sadhguru, Inner Engineering (Page 53)

Save Yourself. Because Even The Best Doctors, Teachers, Gurus, Mentors, and Trainers Can’t

Excerpt: Inspired by a quote from Naval Ravikant, this post is about taking responsibility for your own life and depending less on others to do the “saving” for you. Doctors won’t make you healthy. Teachers won’t make you smart. Mentors won’t make you rich. It’s all up to YOU. Save yourself.

“To make mistakes is human. To own your mistakes is divine. Nothing elevates a person higher than quickly admitting and taking personal responsibility for the mistakes you make and then fixing them fairly. If you mess up, fess up. It’s astounding how powerful this ownership is.”
Kevin Kelly, Blog

Naval Ravikant Quote on Freedom and Living Below Your Means

“People who live far below their means enjoy a freedom that people busy upgrading their lifestyles can’t fathom.”
Naval Ravikant

Beyond the Quote (184/365)

Most people think that freedom is the absence of responsibility. But, when you look closely, the opposite is actually the case: freedom is a byproduct of responsibility. You can’t be free until you’ve taken proper responsibility for yourself and your life. You can’t even free up the mental resources needed to enjoy said freedom until you’ve covered the bases for your survival, right? How free are you really if you’re starving? How free can you possibly be if you’re without water? Is being free of a house freedom? Or is it a constant threat to your survival and a chronic cage of worry that haunts you? Let’s start by looking at the relationship between freedom and responsibility more closely.

Glenn Danzig Quote on Shopping Carts and How They Are The Ultimate Litmus Test

“The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing. To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one which we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do. To return the shopping cart is objectively right. There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart. Simultaneously, it is not illegal to abandon your shopping cart. Therefore the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it. No one will punish you for not returning the shopping cart, no one will fine you or kill you for not returning the shopping cart, you gain nothing by returning the shopping cart. You must return the shopping cart out of the goodness of your own heart. You must return the shopping cart because it is the right thing to do. Because it is correct. A person who is unable to do this is no better than an animal, an absolute savage who can only be made to do what is right by threatening them a law and the force that stands behind it. The Shopping Cart is what determines whether a person is a good or bad member of society.”
Glenn Danzig

Beyond the Quote (183/365)

…Maybe not an “animal” or an “absolute savage,” but certainly a person who has given in to their lazy tendencies. I think we all have that moment when we load the last grocery bag into the car and we look back at the cart only to deeply contemplate how to handle the no-longer-needed thing that’s just sitting there staring at us. We look around for the nearest cart return station and try to minimize the amount of effort it will take to get the thing out of our way so that we can quickly make our escape back home. Isn’t it amazing how quickly we can change our minds about something that provided us so much convenience to all-of-a-sudden being something that is such an annoyance and has become such a hassle? Ah, but how quickly we do that for so much in life, eh?

Once you straighten this out in your head—everything changes.

Epicurus Quote on What The Wise Will Accomplish in Their Life

“Epicurus once said that the wise will accomplish three things in their life: leave written works behind them, be financially prudent and provide for the future, and cherish country living. That is to say, we will be reflective, we will be responsible and moderate, and we will find time to relax in nature.”
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 183)

Beyond the Quote (119/365)

If there was ever a time to prioritize reflection, responsibility/ moderation, and nature, this would be the time. COVID-19 has had a drastic impact on the world—our world. It took almost everything that we grew to rely on as part of our daily lives and flipped it all upside down. Family dynamics aren’t the same. Work isn’t the same. Education isn’t the same. Extracurricular activities aren’t the same. Food isn’t the same. Friends aren’t the same. Shopping isn’t the same. Exercise isn’t the same. Entertainment isn’t the same. Everything has been affected. And when the landscape all around us is shifting as rapidly as it is under these circumstances, what we need now more than ever is stability and stillness within.

“Epicurus once said that the wise will accomplish three things in their life: leave written works behind them, be financially prudent and provide for the future, and cherish country living. That is to say, we will be reflective, we will be responsible and moderate, and we will find time to relax in nature.”
Ryan Holiday, Stillness is the Key (Page 183)

“There was no better decision I could have made than the discipline I put on myself of having responsibility, having another human being—my wife—that I have to answer to.”
J. Cole, via Stillness is the Key (Page 145)

“Things fall apart. What worked yesterday will not necessarily work today. We have inherited the great machinery of state and culture from our forefathers, but they are dead, and cannot deal with the changes of the day. The living can. We can open our eyes and modify what we have where necessary and keep the machinery running smoothly. Or we can pretend that everything is alright, fail to make the necessary repairs, and then curse fate when nothing goes our way.” ~ Jordan Peterson, via 12 Rules for Life (Page 228)

“You should never do anything because of duty. Either you do something because of love or you do not do it. Make it a point that your life has to be a life of love, and if out of love, you respond, that I call responsibility. Break the word into two—response-ability—don’t make it one. Joining these two words has created so much confusion in the world. It is not responsibility; it is response-ability. And love is able to respond. There is no other force in the world that is so able to respond. If you love, you are bound to respond; there is no burden. Duty is a burden.” ~ Osho, Fame, Fortune, and Ambition