Why don’t people take responsibility?
Why don’t people take responsibility?
I am often asked “Why don’t people take responsibility?” It’s a good question, but it usually comes from a point of view of evaluation, of judgment, of blaming other people who aren’t taking responsibility. It’s an interesting point of view.
The reason that people don’t take responsibility is because they have a problem, and they’re trying to solve the problem, and they’re reacting from below the line.
People who don’t take responsibility don’t know they’re reacting from below the line. They didn’t grow up learning about The Responsibility Process® — about blame, justify ,shame, obligation, and quit.

Notice the double line between Responsibility and Obligation. We often use the language of “above the line” to refer to Responsibility and “below the line” to refer to the coping states.
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They’re just doing exactly what they’re programmed as human beings to do.
The Responsibility Process is how we respond when things go wrong. There are a half dozen coping states below the line, and only one above the line — Responsibility.
So it’s likely that when things go wrong, people won’t take responsibility. And you know what? There’s nothing wrong with them. They’re not dumb. They’re not arrogant. They’re not ignorant.
They might be in denial, but they’re only in denial about their own power and ability to create, choose and attract their results.
I suggest having a little more compassion and understanding about why people don’t take responsibility. When you come from a place of compassion, you can take ownership for how you deal with situations where others are not taking responsibility.
As you come from a place of demonstrating responsibility, they will be cast in your light.
They will want to figure out why you are so happy, so free, why you’re doing well and coming from a place of power. Maybe they’ll ask you, and then maybe you could teach them a little bit about how responsibility works in their mind.
Send all your questions to Hello@Responsibility.com. I look forward to hearing from you.