Ownership of a problem doesn’t require fault. Just because someone else caused the problem does not mean you can’t be the one to take ownership of fixing it. Blaming others for the problem and hoping they take ownership assigns the power on them to fix it. If they choose not to fix the problem, the problem remains. If they choose not to accept responsibility, the problem remains. Because you’ve delegated the power to them.
When you take ownership, you assume power. Whatever the problem is. When you take ownership of it. When you *know* you are the answer. When you accept ownership, if you don’t like how something is going you have the power to change it. When you accept ownership, if you like how something is going you have the power to keep going. You don’t have to wait for others. You can start now.
Asking for help is another available resource. Another tool at your disposal. Another potential part of our stack. When you ask for help, you are not admitting failure or lack of ability to solve the problem. To the contrary, you are using your ability to bring further resources to bear. You are tapping into all that is available to you to be a complete solution.
You may have heard of the term “full-stack developer”. A full-stack developer is a developer or engineer who can build and maintain both the front end and the back end of a website. They are generally in very high demand in the job market. A company can hire one person to build and maintain a whole website instead of several. They are a complete solution. You are a full stack person.
Many of us spend our lives looking outside ourselves for the answers. All of the solutions are found within. The answer is not on social media. The answer is not on television. The answers are not in classes or schools or universities. The answers are not in books or the library. All of those things are resources, but they are not answers. They can’t fix the problem. The answer is you.
“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.”
Aldous Huxley - Time Must Have a Stop (1944)