This column was originally published April 20, 2012.
What are you responsible for? Do you know? If someone asked you to list off your responsibilities, could you name them all? Do you have too many responsibilities? Are there people that have responsibilities toward you? If there are, do they know the full extent of those responsibilities and what you expect from them? It is hard to meet your responsibilities if you are not clear on what they are.
If you have too many responsibilities, what can you do about it? The obvious answer would be to shed those that are over burdening you. This is usually easier said than done. Any responsibility shirked is going to lead to some type of result that is likely negative in nature. In deciding whether to shirk a responsibility, one must decide whether the result of the shirked responsibility is something they are willing to accept in order to get out of the responsibility. The “math” related to this analysis can be a little tricky.
Sometimes, responsibilities are not going to be met no matter what the individual’s intent. Just because you take on and accept a responsibility does not necessarily mean you are going to rise to the occasion and fulfill obligations. Often, the refusal to acknowledge that, good intentions aside, you cannot meet a responsibility will only bring harm when the responsibility is not met.
How many things in life could be fixed if we knew that others were not able to meet their responsibilities and we could plan or act accordingly? A little notice can go a long way. Admitting that you are going to fall short or are unable to complete a responsibility can warn others of the problem and those soon to be harmed by your failure or inability will have a chance to try to fix things.
Being seen as backing out on a responsibility can be embarrassing. Sometimes, the backing out is more embarrassing then a lackluster performance or a failure. Which really brings us to a question of character. If you can’t or won’t meet a responsibility, you should seek to rid yourself of it. If you can’t “pay the freight” on backing out or failing, then step up and meet your responsibility. It is that simple and that hard all at the same time.
All of us should take a little time and figure out exactly what our responsibilities are at the present time. If you don’t know or recognize the extent of your responsibilities, how can you ever hope to meet them? Take on new responsibilities carefully. The best way to get your responsibilities in place in the future is through your actions today. Preparing for the future is always a good thing, especially for those of us in the CHEAP SEATS!
Bill James is a co-founder of the James Law Firm with offices in Little Rock, Conway and Fayetteville, Arkansas. His primary area of practice is criminal defense. He can be contacted at Bill@JamesFirm.com