Personal Responsibility

Function with Gumption – 3 Responsibilities

When you Function with Gumption, you take 100% responsibility for your thoughts, actions, and interactions with others.

To Function with Gumption is a simple concept. But I’ll readily admit it’s not so easy to do.

Here is why being personally responsible for these 3 things is so challenging:

1. Thoughts.

Taking 100% responsibility for your thinking requires daily diligence. It?s a never ending battle. You need to be aware every?minute, hour-after-hour.?You’re fighting your lizard brain. You’re?combatting your primal instinct of fear. You need to resist the constant urge to flight or fight.

Here is the thing.

When you become fully aware of your thinking, you start to realize that everything is a choice.

And with that recognition, you start to be free. You?re free to choose positive or negative thoughts. You?re free to banish negativity, fears, blame, annoyance, and even anger. You’re free to Function with Gumption.

That?s not to say I don?t regularly feel negative. I have my fears. I want to blame others and circumstances. I do become annoyed and angry. But I try to catch myself quickly when these feelings occur. I give myself permission to feel those thoughts and then make a conscious choice to think differently. When I think optimistically, my feelings do?change.

2. Actions.

Taking 100% responsibility for your actions requires discipline. It?s the?discipline that comes with?honoring the commitments you?ve made. It?s a choice to live your?life with integrity.

It means making a plan and working your plan.

It means doing the things you don?t want to do right now so that you?ll have the freedom to do the things you want to do in the future.

When you become fully aware of your actions, you realize that every action is a choice. You?re free to act on whatever you want to do at any given moment. Sometimes it doesn?t feel that way because you?ve made a commitment to someone else. But as a person of integrity, you honor your commitments. You complete whatever action is necessary at a given moment.?Your actions demonstrate what it means to Function with Gumption.

As a creative person, I have to fight the urge to do the things that I?ve previously committed instead of dreaming. I?m easily distracted by shiny, new objects. Scheduling time to do and then acting during those times frees me to creatively dream at other times. Consistent, small, baby-steps of action helps me get things done, honor my commitments, and live my life with integrity.

3. Interactions? with Others.

Taking 100% responsibility for your interactions with others means choosing that the other person is never to blame for a mis-communication. It?s your job to make every communication work. It means giving up completely the bandaid of blame.

This is tough.

Blame is easy – it?s also a dead end.

In order to give up blame you have to allow the other person the freedom to choose for themselves. You employ persuasion as your means of?influence. You seek to understand. You concede concerns. You grant space for another to face their fears. You grant others permission to Function with Gumption.

I find interacting with others much easier if I?m first responsible for my own thinking and my own actions. If I do my part to stay positive – it helps others be positive. If I do what I?ve previously agreed to do, then I?m much more willing to help others. Feelings of blame (i.e. defensiveness) mostly arise when I haven?t done my own homework first.

Being 100% responsible for your thoughts, actions, and interactions with others requires taking an honest look in the mirror.

Being responsible for your thinking requires choosing optimism when negative feelings arise.

Being responsible for your actions requires keeping the promises you?ve previously made.

Being responsible for your interactions with others requires a sincere desire to help instead of blame.

Easy to do? No. Simple concept? Yes.

Are you willing to Function with Gumption?

MLK & Forrest Gump

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream ? and he changed the world. Photo credit: AFP/AFP/Getty Images

Note: This post originally appeared on this blog on January 16, 2012 and is reprinted here today in honor of MLK.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It?s a U.S. federal holiday that marks the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed the third Monday of each January and was first observed in 1986.

Here is an eight-minute video created by Lisa Nedberg that honors Rev. King and tells his life story. The video is composed of mostly black-and-white still images with embedded descriptive sentences. The first five-plus minutes are set to the Forrest Gump theme music – composed by Alan Silvestri. It?s worth watching and remembering what Rev. King accomplished in his too-short life.

There was a scene filmed for the movie Forrest Gump in which Forrest met Rev. King. It ended up on the cutting room floor and didn?t make final movie version.

Here is a description of that scene:

Forrest meets Rev. King and his supporters while vicious police dogs are about to attack. Forrest first has a flashback to his childhood, remembering how he used to play with dogs. He then enters the scene thinking it?s just a parade ? not understanding the historical significance of the moment.

German Shepherd dogs are unleashed by the police. The dogs charge toward King and his supporters. Forrest enters just in time to distract the dogs with a stick. He diverts the dogs and gets them to play fetch. The dogs are rendered harmless. Forrest throws the stick and the dogs run away. Forrest then walks up to the King group and says, ?Sorry to interrupt your parade. They just dogs and they don?t know any better.?

The dialogue is similar to when Forrest apologized to the Black militants for ?having a fight in the middle of your Black Panther party.?

The scene can be seen on the Forrest Gump Special Collector?s Edition DVD.

Since Forrest Gump grew up in Alabama, I understand why the original screenplay included the scene. The fictitious Greenbow, Alabama, would have been very close to Birmingham. But Director Robert Zemeckis decided to leave the scene out of the final version.

I?m glad that the scene of Forrest playing fetch with the dogs was not part of the final movie version. Martin Luther King and our history of racial injustice need not be cheapened through a clever cinematic trick.

Rev. King stood up to the injustice of racism. He made the United States and the world a much better place by shining a spotlight on the injustice of racial inequality. And he gave his life for the cause.

When he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39, I was only nine years old. I remember hearing of his assassination. I remember my mother being upset by the news. I didn?t understand the issue. Today it?s incomprehensible to me that forty-five years ago we had segregated buses and water fountains.

Rev. King is an example how the will of one man can change the world.

I encourage you to remember Martin Luther King, Jr., by watching the video. More importantly, remember what he stood for and accomplished. He was a great American. He was a great man.

Are You Part of the Problem?

Problem?_or_Solution?

In the workplace, problems and challenges occur all the time. It’s always something … it’s either this or that.

Where will we put this?
Why can’t we find the inventory that the computer says exists?
Why are we out of stock for this standard item?
Why do we too often end up reacting instead of following a plan?

These challenges and problems are the reason that you were hired. Your job is to solve problems.

Unfortunately, some people come to work and only create more problems.

Are you part of the problem? Or are you part of the solution?

My Ideal Sponsor Partner

To achieve my goal of sharing the message of Gumption with every student in Montana, I’ll need to find a sponsor or sponsors.

Here are the main characteristics I’ll seek in my ideal sponsor partnership:

Education. First and foremost, all sponsors will have a strong focus and commitment toward education. They are open-minded to new ways of doing things. They believe that education is a lifelong activity. They know that only an educated person can live a truly free and creative life.
Montana. A love of and strong commitment to the state of Montana. Helping Montana will be at the core of our partnership. Both my partners and I believe in the Montana lifestyle, the outdoors, and the preservation of our way of life. I planted my flag in Montana in 2006. I imagine Montana being my primary home for the rest of my life. I love Montana.

100%/0% is a Better Choice

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Here is why 50/50 is overrated when it comes to your thinking, actions, and interactions with others.

When you function in a 50/50 mindset, you spend a lot of time keeping score.
When you function in a 50/50 mindset, you spend a lot of time holding back.
When you function in a 50/50 mindset, you spend a lot of time judging the motives of others.

Function with Wellness Gumption

When you Function with Gumption, you take responsibility for three things:

The way you think (Mindset)
The way you act (Behavior)
The way you interact with others (Relationships)

When you Function with Wellness Gumption, you take responsibility for these three areas:

Your nutrition (what you eat, drink, and additional supplements)
Your movement (exercise)
Your rest (sleeping)

Gumption is all about taking responsibility.
Wellness Gumption is taking responsibility for your health and wellness.