Welcome to The Soul Podcast, I’m Stacey Wheeler. Today, we’re kicking off a two-part series that’s all about taking control of your life and owning your journey. This first episode is going to set the stage by introducing the concept of personal responsibility—why it matters and how it’s the foundation for living a life of power and self-respect. Next week, we’ll dive deep into group think and how to break free to embrace your own truth, independent of the crowd. So, buckle up, because we’re about to get real about what it means to steer your own ship.

Carl Jung said, 

“Individuals who believe they are masters of their fate are as a rule the slaves of destiny.” 

Jung’s pointing out that if we ignore the hidden forces shaping our lives—like our unconscious habits or the influence of others—we’re not really in control. We’re just fooling ourselves. True control comes from recognizing those forces and taking responsibility for how we respond to them. Jung spent years peeling back the layers of his own psyche, examining every corner of his programming to understand his true self. That’s the kind of self-awareness we’re talking about today.

Personal responsibility is about owning your life—every choice, every outcome, every dent in the fender. It’s easy to blame others when things go wrong. The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre put it bluntly: 

“We make our own hell out of the people around us.” 

Blaming others is an ego reflex, a lazy way to dodge accountability. But when we blame, we give away our power. Freud hit on this too, saying, 

“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” 

Harsh, but true. It’s easier to point fingers than to own our faults and work to improve them.

Consider your life for a moment. Can you think of times you've reflexively had an “it's not my fault” moment -even when you knew you played some part in the outcome? We all do this from time to time. It's old habit for some of us; reflexive even. 

Here’s the thing: taking responsibility isn’t just about admitting mistakes. It’s about recognizing that your thoughts, actions, and even your destiny are in your hands. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, 

“The ancestor of every action is a thought.” 

Change your thoughts, and you change your actions. Change your actions, and you change your life. But to do that, you’ve got to drop the victim mentality. And here's a wonderful truth: You can’t hold a victim mindset and personal power at the same time. It’s one or the other. Choose!

Let me share a little test to see where you stand. Think about your life—are there any small pockets where you feel like life’s unfair? Maybe it’s something tiny, like when I get to work and someone’s parked in my usual spot. No one’s assigned that spot, but I still catch myself feeling like a victim when it’s taken. I have to laugh at myself and stomp out that mindset. Try it: spot those little moments of “victim head” in your life. Maybe it’s a coworker who gets under your skin or a situation you grumble about. Maybe they are much bigger than that. Excellent! The bigger your victim-head, the greater growth you will get from recognizing and changing it. So think about your thoughts. Those are the spaces where you can grow. Reject the victim reflex, and you’ll feel your self-respect kick in. 

Joan Didion said, “The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs.”

This idea isn’t new, but it’s powerful. The novelist and poet Erica Jong put it this way: 

“Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.” 

And Winston Churchill added, “The price of greatness is responsibility.” 

These aren’t just catchy quotes—they’re a call to action. When you stop blaming others and start owning your journey, you become the captain of your life. You cut the ties that tether you to outside forces, and you start steering in the direction you choose.

Now, this is just the beginning. Next week, in part two of this series, we’ll dig into group think—how the crowds we run with can subtly (or not so subtly) shape our thoughts and actions. We’ll talk about how to break free from that influence and stand firm in your own truth. It’s going to be a deep dive, so you won’t want to miss it.

Before we wrap up, let’s circle back to Jung. He said, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” 

That’s the heart of personal responsibility: seeing the forces at play and choosing to take control. So, I challenge you this week—watch for those moments where you slip into blame or victim mode. Laugh at them, stomp them out, and own your power. There’s always room to grow, and as James Allen said, “A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.” 

So, what do you say? Are you ready to tend that garden?

That’s it for today. Be sure to come back next week for part two, where we’ll explore group think and how to embrace your independent truth. Until then, keep growing, keep owning your journey, and I’ll catch you on the next episode of The Soul Podcast.