take responsibility for your actions quotes

25 Powerful Take Responsibility for Your Actions Quotes

You've always known you should stand up and take responsibility for your actions, right?

But as we all know, it's easier said than done, isn't it?

We screw up at work, and that formidable voice in the back of our heads says, "Don't admit it! He won't notice. Blame it on Kerry! You'll get fired if you take responsibility".

When you waver and wonder if you’re being responsible enough, take a few minutes to empower yourself.

Heed the wisdom of the great minds who've been there – and show what it really means to take responsibility for your actions.

This list of 25 take-responsibility-for-your-actions quotes includes quotes about responsibility, optimism, and moving forward. 

Read them, bookmark them, and use them as your fuel to make those hard decisions – especially when you feel like taking the easy way out.

Don't forget to check out 12 Potent Ways to Take Responsibility for Your Life - Starting Today.

Quotes about Taking Responsibility for Your Actions

“The greatest day in your life and mine is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes. That's the day we truly grow up.”

- John C. Maxwell

“We cannot have a world where everyone is a victim. "I'm this way because my father made me this way. I'm this way because my husband made me this way." Yes, we are indeed formed by traumas that happen to us. But then you must take charge, you must take over, you are responsible.”

- Camille Paglia

“If you own this story you get to write the ending.”

- Brené Brown

“Your life begins to change the day you take responsibility for it.”

- Steve Maraboli

“The future is up for grabs. It belongs to any and all who will take the risk and accept the responsibility of consciously creating the future they want.”

- Robert Anton Wilson

“The only life worth living is the one we take responsibility for choosing.”

- Alexandra Stoddard

“Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off. But if you don't have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.”

- Amelia Earhart

“If it's never our fault, we can't take responsibility for it. If we can't take responsibility for it, we'll always be its victim.”

- Richard Bach

“There's a responsibility in being a person. It's more than just taking up space where air would be.”

- John Steinbeck, East of Eden

“It is better for you to take responsibility for your life as it is, instead of blaming others, or circumstances, for your predicament. As your eyes open, you'll see that your state of health, happiness, and every circumstance of your life has been, in large part, arranged by you - consciously or unconsciously.”

- Dan Millman

“Taking personal accountability is a beautiful thing because it gives us complete control of our destinies.”

- Heather Schuck

“The pollution of the planet is only an outward reflection of an inner psychic pollution: millions of unconscious individuals not taking responsibility for their inner space.”

- Eckhart Tolle

“You must take personal responsibility.

You cannot change the circumstances,

the seasons, or the wind, but

you can change yourself. ”

- Jim Rohn

“Taking responsibility means never blaming anyone else for anything you are being, doing, having, or feeling.”

- Susan Jeffers

“I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiration date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.”

- J.K. Rowling

“And you must be cautious, because making your life better means adopting a lot of responsibility, and that takes more effort and care than living stupidly in pain and remaining arrogant, deceitful and resentful.”

- Jordan B. Peterson

"We all love to take responsibility for success and happiness. Hell, we often fight over who gets to be responsible for success and happiness. But taking responsibility for our problems is far more important, because that’s where the real learning comes from. That’s where the real-life improvement comes from.”

- Mark Manson

“Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, you are unlikely to step up and take responsibility for making it so.”

- Noam Chomsky

“If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.”

- Les Brown

“Placing the blame or judgment on someone else leaves you powerless to change your experience; taking responsibility for your beliefs and judgments gives you the power to change them.”

- Byron Katie

“Enlightenment means taking full responsibility for your life.”

- William Blake

“Take responsibility for your own happiness, do not expect people or things to bring you happiness, or you could be disappointed.”

- Rodolfo Costa

“If you take responsibility and blame yourself, you have the power to change things. But if you put responsibility on someone else, then you are giving them the power to decide your fate.”

- Deja 'Joy' King

“Optimism sprouts from the knowledge that you are in control of your own life, not your past and not those around you. Part of being in control is taking responsibility for how you feel. This means not just admitting to uncomfortable feelings but then examining your circumstances to see what can be done to change these feelings at the source.”

- Augusten Burroughs

“Be conscious of your decisions. More importantly, take responsibility for the consequences they bring. When struggling with your passions and goals, be patient and never bail out! You'll eventually get your shot. Remember that only the strong will survive. Be willing to sacrifice things you love to achieve your dream. Expect disappointments, because they will happen over and over again. Just never forget that there is definitely a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow- it's just a son of a bitch getting there!”

- Sully Erna