#020: Why you should stop blaming yourself and start taking responsibility

An idea for you to consider

Last week I went for a stroll with a close friend of mine.

We had an engaging conversation about life and how our beliefs and habits affect our well-being.

In the middle of the conversation, he said:

“Well, there is no point in using oneself as a punching bag.”

He referred to the habit some of us have to blame ourselves when we make a mistake.

It’s important to acknowledge that there exists a fine line between taking responsibility and blaming yourself.

Taking responsibility for your actions sets you up for success.

Blaming yourself (or others) will limit you in more ways than you can imagine.

How can you spot the difference between the two?

Taking responsibility for your actions propels you forward to take further action to work towards improving your situation.

Your self-talk will be positive and empowering - as if you were speaking to a good friend of yours to cheer him up.

Blaming yourself will paralyse you since you cast yourself in a negative light.

Your self-talk will be not empowering at all.

The thing is: blaming yourself will not help you to take action towards improving your situation as you focus on what you did wrong in the past.

So, next time you find yourself in a situation where you made a mistake, allow yourself to learn from that mistake - and then move on and focus on the present moment.

There's zero value in using yourself as a punching bag.

Trust me, I've been there.

A podcast episode for you to listen to

I really enjoyed listening to Dr. Layne Norton on the Huberman Lab Podcast about the science of eating for health, fat Loss & lean muscle.

Layne has a background in biochemistry and holds a PhD in nutritional science.

I highly recommend this podcast episode to anyone who wishes to learn more about nutrition and wants to be guided by science in their decision-making.

They cover a wide range of aspects of nutrition such as weight loss, gaining lean muscle and different types of diets.

One commong saying is "You are what you eat", hence, if we want to improve our quality of life, improving the way we eat can be a huge lever."

Dr. Layne Norton: The Science of Eating for Health, Fat Loss & Lean Muscle

My guest is Layne Norton, Ph.D. — one of the world’s foremost experts in nutrition, protein metabolism, muscle gain and fat loss.

Huberman LabAndrew Huberman

A quote for you to ponder

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” - Annie Dillard