Expert Feature: When Blaming Yourself Is Actually a GOOD Thing
We all know people who blame themselves for every problem in life.
That obviously is not a good thing. In fact, it’s a really bad thing.
But that doesn’t mean we should never blame ourselves for anything.
There are certain times in life and in business when that’s exactly what we must do.
Let me explain…
The Whole World Stinks: A College Prank
I heard of story of two college students who decided one night to pull a prank on a sleeping fraternity brother. They took Limburger cheese and rubbed it gently on his upper lip.
When he woke up, he sniffed, looked around and said, “This room stinks!”
Then he walked out into the hall and said, “This hall stinks!” As he was leaving the dorm, they could hear him say, “The whole world stinks!”
The two college students laughed as they saw him walk away, because they knew their buddy was going to walk around blaming the smell on everything else around him, when the problem was with him!
The Angry Neighbor
When my wife and I were first married we used to live in a one bedroom apartment in Redwood City, CA. There was an older man who lived on the 2nd story of an apartment building in the lot next to ours. His patio overlooked our garage.
One day I got talking to the man and he began complaining about some of our neighbors and saying how mean they were to him.
I listened and after hearing what he said, I didn’t know what to think about those neighbors anymore.
He told me he needed some help and I told him I’d talk to some people I knew and see if they could help him. The problem was I wasn’t able to get a hold of these people for awhile.
He ended up coming to our apartment one day yelling and telling my wife off!
I finally had to talk to him and explain to him that I couldn’t get a hold of the people I thought might be able to help him. I told him I should’ve let him know what had happened, but I didn’t appreciate him yelling at my wife.
I told him I didn’t want him coming over to our place and ever doing that again.
After talking to the neighbors he warned me about, they told me that they had the same problem with him.
This guy reminds me of the guy with Limburger cheese on his lip!
He was blaming everyone else for his problems, never realizing that maybe the reason he had the same problem with everyone was because he was the problem.
A lot of people are like this.
They blame everyone else for their problems.
Some people blame their parents. Some people blame their friends, their customers, their employees, or even the economy.
But the real problem is that they never take responsibility for their own problems.
That’s why people stay stuck where they’re at and never see change.
They’ve been blaming everyone and everything all their lives.
Business philosopher Jim Rohn explained the problem this way…
“I used to say ‘I sure hope things will change.’ Then I learned that the only way things are going to change for me is when I change.”
Do You Really Want Things to Change?
1. The first step to seeing change in your business or life is to really want change.
2. The second step is starting with yourself.
I would encourage you to take an honest look at your life and/or business and ask yourself this question:
What common, repetitive problems am I to blame for?
Admit it and then begin to live a different way.
Do you know what the hardest part of this truth is?
The hardest part is actually applying this truth!
If you need help implementing this in your business, then let me know.
Photo by mrbill78636
