Today I made a mistake and immediately accepted responsibility for the outcome, Why don’t more people do this.
Why don’t more people take responsibility for their actions or their mistakes? It seems most people are quick to take full responsibility for any successes that may occur, but why not that same for errors.
Last night at work at the hospital, there was a slight mix up. In the end I’m not even sure you can call it a mistake but I was willing to accept full responsibility. The MD ordered lab work at 6am for a patient, so I put it in the computer and waited for it to be done. I do know that the lab often doesn’t draw these time sensitive orders in a timely manner, but didn’t take any extra steps to ensure it was collected. Sure enough when he arrived at 645h it was not yet collected. He was quick to tear a strip out of me, and then seemed surprised when instead of making excuses or passing the blame, accepted responsibility and offered all the things I could have done to ensure it was done at the time he wanted. Even the others at work were quick to defend me and suggest it was the labs fault or it was a problem with the entire system, or even his fault since he didn’t indicate STAT on the order. In the end it turned out the lab did come, but were unable to access the patient’s vein and were in the process of sending another tech, but this whole situation made me reflect.
This happens all the time, when someone is quick to pass the blame or find excuses for an error. To me it is one of the most annoying and disappointing traits in someone else. The repercussions of the most of these things are so inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, and even if they are big I feel people still need to be able to accept responsibility. In most situations there is always more that you could have done. Most likely you did some calculation in your head and decided the risk of a negative outcome was lower than the effort needed to ensure a positive outcome or something similar.
This was definitely the case in the situation above. I was aware that there was a good possibility the lab work was not going to be drawn on time, but also felt the potential difference of 1hr was unlikely to change the outcome or have a significant negative outcome so I made the calculated decision not to take the extra effort. I don’t know if I’m being over analytical in this though experiment, perhaps most people don’t think things in this way. I just don’t understand why people seem to be so quick to make excuses. I don’t think I’m anything special when it comes to integrity and at times I often think there is much more I could be doing.
Unfortunately I’m not sure were exactly I’m going with this, whether I was hoping to spark a discussion or maybe just wanted to vent but I now feel the incredible fatigue setting in after the long 12hr night shift. Perhaps after a rest we can continue some sort of further discussion to this effect, thanks for stopping by.
Health is most important. To be safe and healthy!
Health is most important. To be safe and healthy!
My biggest problem at work! I've been so unmotivated recently.
This is something I am constantly working on... Taking responsibility for what you can influence and not pushing the blame or anger onto someone or something else.
These days shifting blame or worrying about things that are out of your control seems to be a constant. One of the small ways I try and take back some responsibility is in traffic. Traffic is always bad in my area especially in the mornings when I have kids to get dropped off and my own school to get to, but by realizing that getting angry and shaking my fist at someone who cuts me off doesn't do any good it has made my morning commutes a bit less stressful. The crucial step is accepting that when it happens I still DO get angry and my heart rate picks up a little and acknowledging that fact, but not letting it boil over into me yelling at my windshield.
This is just a small thing, but it is slowly spilling into other parts of my life and while I still experience stress and disappointment and anger identifying those things and seeking to do what I can to change them instead of waiting for someone else to do something has been very beneficial.
I think the root of it is that its so much easier to shift the blame instead of doing the mental work it takes to accept fault or responsibility. It takes work and mental strength to focus on your actions and role versus the easy way of simply placing the impetus on someone else. Unfortunately, most people don't want to do the work.
I have the same issue @stnwllstrtgc. I take the same way to work each time but the traffic conditions always flare me up. I'm very logical when driving and although creep, other drivers that don't follow the flow of traffic or are just fully incompetent, really annoy me. I have a squishy ball I sometimes use to distract my mind. Music is the main influence in my opinion. I also have a vape in my car that I occasionally use when I feel like I'm going to spit the dummy at someone! haha
I think the way the world is at the moment its really easy to get frustrated or flared up in any situation and play the blame game. I get hand-balled situations and complaints a lot at work, but i take it on as a learning curve. The more you practice resolution the fitter your mind and personality will be. Conflict management and resolution is a quality skill to have!
I think that is also a great mental practice to try to see everything in a more postive light.
You are likely right here, it's easier just to follow your emotions without stopping to reflect, now that you've mentioned this aspect of it, maybe I am finally embracing some of the mindfullness I've been reading about recently.
Mindfulness certainly takes a lot of work to embrace and put to use everyday, but if more people were mindful and did the hard stuff who knows where the world could head!
It's quite simple. If you did something wrong, it's best to take responsibility / admit it. In most cases, those who were influenced or even harmed will understand that it was a mistake, and readily forgive you.
Occasionally, someone might take offence or hold your mistake against you. They might became angry, and even try to take revenge or to exact punishment.
If and when that happens, just realize that their attitude and behavior are "mistaken." Forgive them, as much as possible. If they persist in their anger or desire to punish, leave them behind, ignore them, forget them.
Thanks for your post. I takes a bit of courage to admit mistakes, but it's always the best response.
Yeah, it's much better to be taking the high road in these situations.
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I agree with Majes, take the responsibility / fault with pride. Learn from your mistakes, adapt to be better. If the second person wants to hold a grudge and whinge and complain then they're just being counter-productive and eventually when they realise this, you'll be further ahead.
I agree with @majes.tytyty, take the responsibility / fault with pride. Learn from your mistakes, adapt to be better. If the second person wants to hold a grudge and whinge and complain then they're just being counter-productive and eventually when they realise this, you'll be further ahead.
I think that deep down, maybe unconsciously, most will feel that if you admit you made a mistake then you are at fault. Which gives the feeling of "less than" a desired person should be and the fear of being a "faulty human" comes to mind. While I think this is a classic case of "all in your head" for most, it is still a very powerful feeling of not being "good enough" of a person to have faults. Now I don't believe this by anyone who makes mistakes, but I can sure attest that these feelings of "less than" and "not good enough" will go through my head each and every time I make a mistake. I enjoyed reading your post, thank you for sharing it with all of us.
Thanks for stopping by, I'm glad you enjoyed my musings. Your right that is might stem deeper to feelings of fault or wrongness.
I think its great that you are just putting it out there, regardless of the outcome. Its just something to bring attention to and think about. I had something similar happen to me the other day (not at work) and someone covered for me before I could fess up. I wanted to just apologize but the person who "covered" didn't want to be considered a liar. So now I feel a bit stuck, I don't think I am going to apologize although it seems like it would be the right thing to do.
Would an apology even make anything different? Hard to say.