The Buck Stops Here

[Markme]

When you are first born, you are vulnerable to your surroundings. The people who are around you, like it or not, do mold you into who you will become. Then you go to school, and your teachers and friends mold you into who you will become. A lot of people have characteristics that they do not like about themselves. They acknowledge it, and instead of changing their ways, they find it easier to pass the buck and use that as an excuse. Well once you acknowledge the errors in your ways, the buck stops there!

A really good example of this comes from my own experience. I used to be a pothead, I’d smoke weed daily because the folks around me smoked daily. It is hard to quit or slow down when everyone around you is not. Inside I hated myself because I would smoke and then regret it, and it turned into an underlying bitterness between my friends and I. I knew I was hurting myself, that I could be doing better in life, in school, I could be more intelligent, yet the pot was holding me bac. Now I pose a question, who is to blame for my situation?

You could say that because my friends got me into smoking pot, that they carry the buck. Okay, well they may have got me started, but I am my own person, and I make my own decisions. I decide if I want to smoke pot, or if I would rather pass. No one put a gun to my head and forced me to smoke. So maybe at first, they were to blame, but once I acknowledge that it is a problem, the buck rest squarely upon my shoulders. With me it was about self-disciple, which is something I battle with daily. It was easy at first to place the blame on them, because then I was the victim. However, once I acknowledge that this isn’t the best thing for me, it becomes my job to change. If I fail to change, the buck is no longer on my friends instead it is on me. It is easier to blame than accept responsibility, and because of that, the bitterness grew larger and it came between my friends and I (which actually was a good thing). Though for me to stop smoking, I needed to have control over myself and not let the pot control me. After the buck stopped, and was on my shoulders, I changed my ways. It is very difficult to do, it is easier to be the victim than the wrongdoer, but once you acknowledge the problem, the buck stops there.

By Nomad