It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible: A powerful yet, thoughtful quote makes us think about our responsibility. Most times, it is easy to look the other way and turn a blind eye toward the world. In some ways, it is helpful to limit the things that we let affect us. At the same time, anything in our periphery has our signature to it.
It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible but also for what we do not do
John Baptiste
This quote is about those things in our periphery – it is not only for what we do that we are held responsible. There are so many other things happening around us that we can influence. These can be atrocities unfairness or even simple acts of kindness. Nevertheless, they all form a piece of our life and signature.
It is not only for what we do that we are held responsible meaning
Most of us are often driven by the question of right Vs wrong. This thought defines what we do and what we don’t do. It also defines the enthusiasm towards an action or inaction. The definition of right then sinks deep into our moral fibre, upbringing, environment and more such exciting aspects.
That naturally makes us cautious before decision-making. We would certainly reckon that is the right thing to do. But decision-making is an awfully tricky phenomenon. The decision always comes back to one of two things – Action or inaction.
I’d like to point you to a similar quote about action vs inaction reminding us that it is not only for what we do that we are held responsible “Between an action and inaction, I would choose the former even at the cost of being wrong!” It is not always just about being right or wrong. It is about doing something at a specific moment in time. Of course, a lot of those decisions or actions go wrong. But they go wrong for a reason. There is important learning after that, there is growth. There is an experience filled with richness. The richness in thoughts, desires, ambitions, and passions – which is a world that keeps discovering itself very often.
Discover more from Inspire99
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Pingback: Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice - Henry Ford - Inspire99
Pingback: 12 Stirring Roosevelt Quotes to Push You into Action - Inspire99
Pingback: Drugs are not always necessary, belief is! - Inspire99
Pingback: 9 Powerful Stephen Hawking Quotes for inspiration - Inspire99
Pingback: Only I can change My Life, No one - Carol Burnett - Inspire99
Pingback: Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it - Inspire99
Pingback: Right is right and wrong is wrong - William Penn - Inspire99
Pingback: 8 Motivational Martin Luther King Quotes To Set You In Action - Inspire99
Pingback: You are not only responsible for what you say but also for what you do not say - Inspire99
Pingback: If you don’t like something Change it - Maya Angelou - Inspire99
Pingback: I have a choice - No matter what the situation - Inspire99
Pingback: It is not enough to have a good mind - Rene Descartes - Inspire99
Pingback: Life has no remote, get up and change it yourself! - Inspire99
Pingback: Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction meaning - Inspire 99
Pingback: 10 Stirring Mother Teresa Quotes For a Beautiful World - Inspire 99
I think the way we usually are wired about for problems is either freeze and run, which is one of the neurological systems embedded in us and the other is face it. The former is easier and instinctual and unfortunately creeps in to hamper our abilities in today’s era, where we are no longer in the fear from wild animals, that’s why we don’t do anything about things that aren’t close to us as that’s what we did in those times i.e you freeze so the predator can’t see you. The same, though in a different form haunts us now and we all have at some point in our lives ignored a problem that hit us like a truck after a while.
The latter is a learned skill and of prime importance in today’s world. The problems are advanced and mere running away gives time for the devil to grow stronger and ready to annihilate us. The quote you put up from John Moliere sums it all up. Totally agree…
Very interesting and thought provoking point Raafat. I am very glad to hear from you. We are very attuned to primal behaviour I think – specially in the face of fear. The knee jerk reaction is to freeze like you said. Most times, this fear manifests in such a way that no action seems to be the easiest thing to do. I know I have been in that place more number of times than I would like to admit. Of the many rationalisations I gave myself, a constant one was – things will always work out for the better. And I found reasons to show how my inaction worked in my benefit. With time, I got so good with this rationalisation that Freezing during fear became a natural response. And as with everything, fear, inaction grows stronger with time. The only way to beat them out is to face them and keeping our head down. The more times we face fear, the better we get at it and the confidence improves too.
I could not agree more with your point – It is a learned skill. The faster we get into the habit of working on things and trying to respond and taking actions, we get better at it and stronger too. It is indeed a very good skill to develop and maintain regularly.
I think that sometimes people choose not to act or take responsibility as they are in a situation that allows for the person to take just that, responsibility, no authority to take decisions or change parameters, just execute.. an once that happens they are stuck with it. Another instance is where people can see something wrong happening, and don’t do anything about it. It may a be a simple instance of someone saying something wrong about another person that is a lie. its really sad. Won’t they feel even a bit of guilt when they see the other person suffer in front of their eyes and they, knowing the truth, keep quiet!! good post :)
That’s so true Preethi, end of the day we are all responsible for our actions or inaction and we are the ones who have to live with them. I guess as long as we are satisfied about it, it is the way ahead. If not, maybe it is time to do some rework on it!
Like you said, I am sure we will keep finding a lot of those people who do nothing about it and keep trying to pass on the responsibility. I fail to understand the gratification in it though. It all seems so murky to me!
A simple but profound realization. Absolutely true.
Isn’t it? I have often wondered how much I have missed out on for not doing so many things. Have tried to shed responsibility so many times so that I could feel better. But I guess the only real time I have felt better is when I actually took it up and did it. Maybe responsibility is not such a bad thing after all :)
I agree with the previous comment by Abhijitji.
Lord Krishna has stated the same in the Mahabharata. Why take up responsibility for something we haven’t done, unless in rare/exceptional cases…
Else, there are many who are ever ready to make us scapegoat so that they can escape blame!
Notice how success has so many claimants & failure is such an orphan! :) In case of failure, people pass the buck & responsibility!
I sure agree Anita, the Bhagawadgita certainly is one of the finest treatises ever and the Best book on any management! There certainly are a lot of people who are more than willing to pass the buck and there are the poor scapegoats as well. But I guess the beauty lies in the balance! The part where he says being a part of something and yet dissociating oneself from it – the true definition of karmayoga. That for me sums it all up as a beautiful definition of LIFE in itself :)
Interesting read. True growing up sucks at times but in the end we should do it not as a burden of responsibilities but as we share the same world being human beings. :)
Thank you Yamini :).. He he I guess it does suck most times but every time looking back at it is certainly a pleasant experience. A good nostalgia if I may say :)
There is a famous poem by Rabindranath Tagore. I am loosely translating from Bengali. If it carries a different meaning, it is my fault. “One who does wrong and the other who tolerates it, both are equally guilty of the wrong doing”
Thank you Abhijit! That’s a very nice way to put it! An equal share of guilt – a very valid one indeed. Sometimes I even wonder if the person who tolerates it is a little more culpable! Well I guess that’s up for debate.
I wish I could understand Bengali though, reading Tagore would have been an extraordinary delight! :)
Are we responsible for what we dont do as well? http://t.co/DDd2Sfk1bK