Page 7 - 3.2

JIMINY SELF-HELP HANDBOOK 7

Taking Ownership and Accepting Responsibility

Before the will to embrace an entrepreneurship lifestyle, reach financial independence and imagining
(just) days of glory, it is wisdom to take ownership of all the aspects of a future business. Ownership
taking is the beginning of the so desired professional independence but with it comes full
responsibility. The expression “Maximum freedom maximum responsibility” suits perfectly here.

Taking personal or professional ownership means standing up and announcing that we are responsible
for something, but this can be a challenging process for most individuals. Over time, we have become
used to blaming external factors for our circumstances, and it has turned into an automatic response.
And to help us embedding this habit, we often listen from "higher authorities” that it's not our fault
that our lives are not perfect — it’s due to macro-level factors like the economy, government,
globalisation, crises. Or, on a micro-level, it’s the fault of our DNA, parents, education, kids, community,
jobs.

But in reality, we have more control over our lives than we think we do. And like all bad habits, this
unhelpful way of thinking can be broken, and we can take ownership and control over our life.

Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/FGhJG17-tEU

The “locus of control” plays an important role in taking ownership. There are many factors that
influence the way how do we think and act, such as our belief system, personality, education,
behavioural tendencies, culture or circumstances. In the realm of personal responsibility, how we view
the world and our ability to influence our own circumstances is ruled by our locus of control. This locus
of control is either internal or external.