Personal responsibility is the most important ethic you can exercise. With the cultivation of personal responsibility comes growth in all areas of life. It is a matter of taking charge of your own self and your circumstances through well-directed thoughts, words, and deeds.

Personal responsibility means being aware of Murphy's Law that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. The lesson of Murphy's Law is that if you want plans to go right, you must thoroughly examine them to make sure that none of the steps involved is subject to the whims of chance or the dependency on good luck. Fix potential problems before they happen and you will find only the good kind of breaks, the lucky breaks, because you will be making them for yourself.

Personal responsibility is the action of not being dependent on others for your salvation. You alone are in control of your actions and your destiny. Others cannot live your life for you. Murphy's Law also means that other people will let you down. So love everyone, but trust no one completely. You can seek guidance to take into consideration, but remember that it is you who is the authority to evaluate and absorb what is useful and to discard any advice that you feel is not, including any beliefs you might have unquestionably grown up with. Things are not always as we have seemed them to be, as in the discovery that the Earth is round, rotates, and revolves around the Sun. Don't be afraid to explore and use tools that increase our awareness, as in telescopes. Research any subject you wish to learn about while using a wide variety of sources in order to give yourself the best possible perspective.

Personal responsibility has a lot to do with listening to your own inner guidance. We are all unique and what works for one person does not always work with everybody. Learn to go within and get in touch with your higher self. It is questionable if outside influences are honest or objective with your own greater good in mind. Most likely they are not totally accurate, and their purposes may have their own selfish agenda at the forefront. It is often hard to see, so learn to use deliberation and discernment.

Personal responsibility is the path of the wise. Using research, experience, imagination, and analysis to create the best possible workable theories to achieve great results. Know also that learning never ends, giving you the opportunity to utilize even more precise and expanded updates and revisions. Personal responsibility is the science of success in living well.

Having gained all the benefits of personal responsibility will give you the position of being sought after by others for help. So teach them about personal responsibility so that they too can grow and come into their own. Teaching others to be responsible for themselves and their actions or lack thereof is akin to teaching someone to fish so that they will always have food, rather than the temporary solution of giving someone food with the result that they will again be hungry shortly later. Allowing them to demonstrate for themselves that they can catch fish not only fills their tummy, but also fills their self-esteem.

Take the personal responsibility to look at the underlying cause of problems so they can be solidly resolved, rather than just quick fixes of symptoms that don't last. Personal responsibility ensures not only happiness in the present, but also certainty about the future. Personal responsibility is the most important ethic you can exercise.