Responsibility is a word that has really been raped over time.

It means blame- Who is responsible for toilet papering Principal Skinner's house?

It means shame- The criminal admitted his responsibility and took a plea bargain.

It can sometimes mean burden- I am responsible for taking out the trash on Mondays and Fridays.

It often means guilt- My insurance dropped me because I was responsible for the accident.

All of those definitions have made it a word that many people are frightened of. People are afraid of responsibility because in their mind it means blame, shame, burden or guilt.

This fear of responsibility has made a great many people abrogate their responsibilities or simply refuse to accept any responsibility. When this happens, it causes serious consequences.

One of the REAL meanings of responsibility is POWER. When you accept responsibility, you take power over yourself, job or position. When you refuse to accept responsibility, you cede that power to someone else. When you refuse any responsibility you give up what personal power that you have.

When we get rid of the blame, shame, burden and guilt definition and replace it with POWER, it gives us an entirely different outlook.

Start replacing the word responsibility for power in your mind and see what happens.

I think you'll like it.

Addendum :

There are two other parts of this that are important.

Ownership: by taking responsibility, you take ownership.

Accountability: responsibility usually comes with accountability.

I could expand on these concepts but I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader.

Now consider how these three work together to moderate each other.