What do you win when you play the blame game? If you could convince others that your parents are to blame for the way you are, what good would it do? If your business failure could be blamed on something that really wasn’t your fault, would that help? Can blaming our personal problems on outside factors ever be helpful?
Possibly. There is some evidence that assigning failure to things outside our control may be useful for maintaining self esteem and motivation. An example is when someone says “Oh, the rain ruined the event,” then adds, “I’ll have to plan for that next time.” The truth is, though, that many would just blame the rain without adding the second part of the thought.
Losing The Blame Game
Focusing on outside factors that contribute to our problems de-motivates us. Even if it was true that a friend made you late for an interview and you lost the job, it just can’t help to dwell on it. When you do so, you just feel like giving up, don’t you? What can you do then? Two things.
1. Learn Your Lessons.
2. Take Responsibility.
If, for example, it was an accident on the part of...