Responsibility: What If You Have Great Power?

Being human, we have great power. The restricting force that weakens our power is the same force that drives us to limit our responsibility.

Being human, we have great power. In The God Memorandum, a chapter in The Greatest Miracle in the World by Og Mandino, we are reminded of our great power “unknown to any other creature in the universe”. We were given the power to think, will, laugh, imagine, create, plan, speak, pray, heal, and the great power to choose. The God Memorandum advises us to “Use wisely, your power of choice.” With this great power, “You are capable of great wonders. Your potential is unlimited.” 

The restricting force that weakens our power is the same force that drives us to limit our responsibility. When we hesitate to accept responsibility, we hesitate to take action. Responsibility is an essential value in living a happy and fulfilled life. It is doing that “right” things to the best of our ability. It involves understanding and accepting consequences for our actions. Responsible people define their goal, explore their choices, think through the consequences of each choice, make their decision, and take action. They hold themselves accountable for their failure, as well as their success. When the going gets tough, it takes a readiness for responsibility, to be able to act wisely.

Power and responsibility are flip side of a coin. As soon as we accept that our happiness is our responsibility, we gain the power to be happy. To claim the power over our life, we must answer for our own life, that is, we need to accept responsibility for our life. The well-known Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling, who went through great difficulties before her remarkable success, said that “There is an expiry date for blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction. The moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” 

Being responsible is a matter of discipline. Responsibility involves disciplining ourselves to do what we know is right and important, even if it is difficult and inconvenient. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry through The Little Prince said “It's a question of discipline. When you've finished washing and dressing each morning, you must tend your planet.” 

Peter Parker, empowered as Spiderman, remembered what his Uncle Ben told him: “Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: With great power comes great responsibility.” When we think about the successful people who went through great difficulties, we will realize that they took upon themselves to accept great responsibility. We can, thus, derive that enduring great responsibility earns great power.