Taking Responsibility

You have completed your personal manifesto journey and received your personal Declaration and Wisdom statements. As you contemplate your insights into your identity and recognise and value what you know about ‘living,’ the question may arise, “Well, now that I am aware of all this, what do I do about it?”

In an earlier Manifesto Musing, From Awareness to Responsibility, we wrote of the vital importance of leaving the personal agency, the freedom to make decisions and choose whichever actions they may take, with the client. It is, after all, your awareness. Your personal manifesto represents your framework, your charter, for living. It identifies and recognises your strengths, the traits which characterise you and from which you draw energy. Your manifesto has as aspirational dimension also; it represents your ideal best self, and ideal vision for your life.

As we all know, nothing in life remains static. It is, and we are, in constant motion. Life offers continual opportunities and challenges to each of us. Armed with your personal manifesto, your challenge becomes one of intentional choice or passive acceptance.

The scenario goes something like this:

• Given what I have ahead of me in this day (and life is simply a series of days), what ‘should’ (from your uniquely personal standpoint) I be doing?
• Using my knowledge of myself and my manifestation of my personal vision, which of the possible actions which are available to me, will I take?
• When contemplating an intentional action, I remind myself of my strengths, those attributes from which I draw, to create my greatest satisfactions. How can I draw on them today in relation to this action I am considering?
• Clearly, I need to take the time needed to do this work, which initially will be at a conscious level, but I know with practice, will become an unconscious competence. * The rewards for this stage when reached are the gratifying ‘flow’ that arises. The time taken then, is imperative and I need to prioritise it. I trust in myself and offer myself compassion while I do this work.

As human beings we live within a community as well, of family, work, and society, which governs how much control over our life choices we have. Learning to be authentic, by choosing our actions and the way we ‘show up,’ in the context of our community, is our responsibility.

Now that you have your personal manifesto – which you co-created – can you afford not to honour that knowledge by taking responsibility for the parts that are within your control?

* stages of learning

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