It’s important that you take responsibility for your actions, but oftentimes, we forget that the responsibility applies to the present, as well as to the past and the future.
As you may have heard, Vancouver is one of the least affordable places to live in the world when you consider the median income level and the median price for a home. When people try to work out whether they can afford a property, they’ll talk about how they can adjust their spending habits to accommodate the added expense of a mortgage (and other costs related to home ownership). That sounds responsible to some, but it’s really just avoiding the issue.
That’s because this is simply passing the buck onto a future version of yourself. Instead of covering up for a past mistake, you’re shifting your focus into some point in the future. You’re telling yourself that you don’t need to change anything in your life right now; you’ll just do it later. That’s still irresponsible.
The same line of thought can apply to many other areas in our lives. Say that you want to fight social injustice or work on environmental concerns, but you’re too busy right now. You tell yourself that you don’t have the time to save the world, but you’ll approach those issues when you do have time. This is no different than simple procrastination.
Similarly, many people say that they’ll finally take the opportunity to travel the world when they retire. Why wait until then? With proper planning and budgeting, you can find a way to make it happen now. The choice is there for you to make.
Never forget that while many things in the world are outside of your control, many other things are in your control. You can control your actions and you can control your choices. Take responsibility today. Don’t pass the buck to some future version of yourself that may or may not ever materialize.
I just pass the buck to my past self. He’s really upset at myself for it.