Being responsible means following through on commitments, which builds trustworthiness. A responsible person can be relied upon to act without supervision and takes accountability for their actions. To be responsible, one must do what they say they will do, be consistent in commitments, admit mistakes, focus on controllable factors, prioritize tasks, and demonstrate the ability to handle responsibilities. Developing responsible behaviors helps gain the trust of others and achieve goals.

1. BEING
RESPONSIBLE
By RIYAZ NATHANI

2. When you do what you have
promised, people see you as a
responsible and reliable person.
This is quite admirable, as many
people won’t deal with individuals
who are irresponsible.

3. A responsible person is one who
can be trusted to act without
needing strict supervision, because
they are accountable for their own
behavior.

4. Being trusted is a good feeling,
and both children and adults like
to feel they are capable of doing
things on their own without any
supervision. This boosts a
person’s self-esteem and self-
worth.

5. It’s not rocket science, being
responsible simply requires you
to follow a certain set of
guidelines, in every action you
do. Get all of these in order, and
you’ll be a very responsible
person:

6. If you’ve agreed to do something,
just do it.
When you let down your friends,
family, or colleagues, they’ll soon
believing in you. You’re only taken
seriously when you actually follow
through on your commitments.

7. Be consistent.
Responsibility means nothing if you
constantly over and under-do it. This
means building schedules and
routines that work for you. Bring
consistency into every aspect of your
life and you’ll be much happier.

8. Never place the blame.
Take full accountability for the actions you have
made, and never claim that it is anyone else’s fault
except your own. By doing this, you are actually
giving the world a message, that you’re in control of
every part of your life. It wasn’t the traffics fault you
were late to work, you simply didn’t leave your
early enough. In line with this, life isn’t always fair.

9. Some people have a rougher time
than others, but they will never be
able to get off their course until
they own up to the actions they are
taking themselves, and try to make
a change.

10. Be upfront and admit when you’ve
made a mistake.
By accepting responsibility when you
screw up, it makes the most of a bad
situation – because you’ve learned
from it, and you prevent yourself
making the same mistake again in the
future.

11. You’ll never learn anything if
you never admit when you’re
wrong. So step up, and be
responsible when you say “I’m
sorry, I’ve messed up. It’s not
going to happen again.”

12. Recognize there will be things you cannot
control.
As important as taking responsibility for
your own actions is the ability to
something comes up which you cannot
possibly be responsible for. Put your focus
into being responsible for things you can
control, and avoid the stress of those you
cannot.

13. Take care of yourself.
You shouldn’t rely on others to
remind you of the simple things you
could either discover yourself, or you
should simply know. Take
responsibility and be in control of
your life.

14. Learn to multi-task.
This is another trait of a responsible person, as you need
effectively juggle everything that is on your plate. This
mean caring for your newborn, having career success in
your company, loving your partner and remembering the
different bills that all need to be paid, all on the same day.
Whilst impossible to do all of this at once, a responsible
person makes a priority list, and starts ticking off each as
they get them done.

15. Be someone people can count on.
If you borrow something from a friend,
take good care of it. If a colleague tells
you a secret, keep it to yourself. This
demonstrates that you’re trustworthy,
can be counted on when something
bigger comes up.

16. You also need to know how to behave when a
tragedy strikes. In the face of devastating news,
you also need to be responsible and be there for
your family and friends, as a support system for
the people who really need you.
Being responsible also requires learning how to
hold yourself together when things get tough.

17. Think with your head.
Try to use good judgment in the
decisions that you make. When you
think things through you’ll make better
choices, and gain the trust of your
family (and your parents).

18. Don’t procrastinate.
If there’s a job needing to be done, get
it done. Missing deadlines is not a trait
of a responsible person, and by doing
things on time it shows you can
successfully manage your own life, and
your own commitments.

19. Reward yourself only when you’ve
ticked off your tasks from your daily
“to-do” list, because if you want to
be truly responsible you need to
tackle the challenges life throws at
you, and not just enjoy the fun stuff.

20. Demonstrate you can handle the small stuff.
Responsibility isn’t something that each of us
is entitled to, you need to first act responsible
and earn the right. If a teacher, or a manager
is hesitant at giving you more responsibility
think about why this may be the case.

21. Have you been flippant with the
responsibility already assigned to you? It
doesn’t matter how stupid/boring/dumb
you believe your current responsibilities to
be, saying you’ll take a new (and more
challenging task) more seriously while
neglecting what you currently are
responsible for is a key characteristic of an
irresponsible person.

22. Take all of this advice on
board and learn to be more
responsible for your own life
today. It will help you get
places!