Taking Responsibility For Your Own Choices

I noticed that it has been a while since I last wrote and feel that I need to get back in the saddle so to speak.  Life gets super crazy at times, and with the continued snow fall, resulting snow days, schedule shifting to accommodate extra children, as well as daily life, I let my posts get a little behind.  My brother, who lives in Texas, sent me a "meme" (I always have a hard time knowing exactly what to call these things cuz I just don't know - hahahaha) that is really pretty accurate to the amount of snow we have received in the last 3 weeks.  (Ok, only a slight exaggeration!) 
This next picture is of the sled hill that my hubby made for the children.  As you can see, the starting point is really high (at least 4ft tall)!  We have also had to "rake" snow off our roof so the silly thing won't collapse on top of us.  Ahhh, snow, got to love it!

Anyhow, I am here now to remedy that tragic chain of events that has led to my neglect of my devoted readers.  I just have a difficult time nailing down exactly I would like to write about today.  

I have recently become passionate about the importance of standing up for what is good and right.  Basically standing up for what you believe in and taking responsibility for your own choices and not blaming others for your own stupid mistakes.  But I remembered that I already posted those thoughts in previous posts.  (For my insights on these topics click here, and here.  There may be a couple of others, but I can't really choose which ones to site - they are all pretty good.)  When I really think back on my posts, I am shocked that I really haven't addressed this issue - Taking Responsibility For Your Own Choices. 

I was recently accused of "making" someone make a "bad choice" just because of a decision that I chose to make.  I made the decision I did in order to protect my family.  My choice was not bad, but it did affect others.  I know that when choices are made, those choices affect others either for good or for bad.  HOWEVER, just because you make the choice, and the other people choose to make a poor choice, doesn't mean that you are now responsible for their poor choices.  THEY are the ones that are responsible for their own actions and need to be mature enough to take that responsibility and not place blame for their choices on other people.  The only person that can be truly held accountable for your choices - good or bad - is YOU.  Quit trying to blame others for your own stupidity! 

My oldest recently called me in tears and not knowing what she should do.  She expressed a sincere desire to know what she should do for her future and how she should do it.  I was currently working on a puzzle and was having a difficult time of it when I said "this is a difficult puzzle!"  and she responded "What? My life!?!"

Life is a crazy sort of puzzle that we are all trying to put together.  You know what it's supposed to look like, and you really liked the picture on the box, so you got the puzzle.  However, you open the box to find that all pieces are TINY and there are a bazillion of them!  You start to wonder how on earth you are EVER gonna get that thing to look like the picture on the box.  One simple solution - ONE PIECE AT A TIME.

So, how do you put together the puzzle we call life?  Simple, one piece at a time.  When you start to feel overwhelmed with the tough choices in life, take a deep breath, take a step back, and look at what you already have in place.  It is also good to have the support of great friends that can help you through the rough spots.  Sometimes the pieces will fit in quickly, while at others, those pieces are so stubborn that it seems as if the one piece you are looking for took a trip to Florida! Eventually you will find the correct "pieces" and where they are supposed to go. 

So, I guess what I am really trying to say in this post is, life is tough any way you choose to look at it.  You may have a "life puzzle" that has only 24 pieces in it (lucky you!) or your life may be a 1000 pieces that will take (almost) forever to figure out.  You ARE going to make stupid choices while putting together your "life puzzle", but you need to remember to take responsibility for ALL the choices you do make.  Quit whining and blaming others for when life isn't going your way, in essence, turn your current "life puzzle piece" around and see if it fits another way or in a different spot.  Sometimes you will feel that the current piece you are working on doesn't fit into your "life puzzle", that it belongs to some other puzzle, well, that may be true, but then again, your choices are yours, no one else's.  Even the poor choices we make are part of who we are and they will help to make our puzzle complete.
 
May you enjoy the puzzle you have been given.  When it is complete you will sit back and say to yourself "WOW!  That was really hard, but look what an amazing picture it made!"  I for one am really excited to see what my completed "life puzzle" will turn out to be.  I haven't been a perfect "angle", and I have definitely made some pretty terrible choices in life, but I know that without the good and bad choices I have made, I wouldn't be the person I am today.