What does it mean to be responsible? It’s more than paying your income taxes and driving the speed limit. It’s about taking care of yourself, treating others like you want to be treated, and doing what you say you’re going to do. This good habit will benefit you in more ways than you can imagine. It will also make your life easier, help you feel good about yourself, and serve humankind.

What does it mean to be responsible?

Let’s start with what it means to be responsible for yourself. If you can be responsible for yourself, you have a better chance of using that quality towards others.

To be responsible for your physical health, you need to eat, move, and sleep.

Eating involves putting food in your mouth and waiting for it to come out the other end. Gross. Seriously, eating right means getting enough of the right foods so that you feel good in your body.

Exercising involves groaning, sweating, and stinking. Lovely. Instead of trying to exercise, just move. Think of something that is fun to do where you’re moving your limbs, breathing a little heavier, and feeling exhilarated.

Sleeping, for me, involves drooling and snoring. Sexy. But we all need it, right?!? A very small percentage of the population has a genetic mutation that makes them able to get by on less than 7 – 9 hours a night. The rest of us (yes, that’s you) need these hours of sleep. Binging on Netflix doesn’t count. Get your ZZZZs!

Eating, moving, and sleeping are natural. Furthermore, how often and how much you do of each of those matters. So, get gross, stinky, and unattractive, . . . every day. This is being responsible for your physical health.

In addition to your physical health, it’s important to be responsible for your mental health. One way to do this is to have personal boundaries. It’s taking responsibility for your emotions, attitude, choices, values, and thoughts. But, some of us have trouble saying no.

Saying no should be easier because the word ”No“ has fewer letters than the word “Yes”. You barely have to move your mouth to say No. Yes requires you to stretch your lips and add a facial expression.

When we can’t say No, we show how much we crave validation. This is such a problem that we’re willing to drive 15 miles to go to a friend of a friend’s house, sit on their plastic covered couch, tolerate an overactive dog who is “part of the family”, play a silly game where the prize is a bag of jelly beans, smile politely during the one-hour presentation of ugly home goods discussed in way much too much detail, and then pay $45 for a doo-hickey that you’ll never even unpack.

Be responsible for your mental health and have personal boundaries.

And finally, be responsible for your spiritual health. This is practicing faith, hope, gratitude, joy, love, meaning and purpose. You can probably see how doing those things individually will benefit not only you but the community around you.

Why is it a good habit to be responsible?

Once you’re responsible for your own physical, mental, and spiritual health, you become a more responsible member of society. This creates a world we all want to live in where creativity grows, humankind supports one another, and there’s peace.

Being responsible is simply taking care of what’s important. It’s doing what you say you’re going to do. It’s following the golden rule of treating others as you want to be treated.

This creates a better community.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not easy to be irresponsible. In the moment, being irresponsible seems fun or necessary, but the consequences are way worse than being responsible.

It’s easier to form a good habit than live with a bad one.

How can you form the habit of being responsible?

As with every change in your life, start small. Make sure you succeed on most days, so you’ll continue. And remember, if you’re irresponsible one day, you don’t need to start over. Just get right back on that horse and ride!

Here are some suggestions to becoming responsible for yourself:

Physical

· Have one good meal a day.

· Pay attention to how much sleep you get each night and work towards 7 - 9 hours.

· Move your body.

Mental

· Begin to say “no” when you don’t want to do something. It’s a complete sentence.

· Proactively do something to create healthy space in your life.

· Delay gratification in a small way.

Spiritual

· Meditate 5 minutes a day.

· Write in a gratitude journal.

· Think about what you are hopeful for each day.