Monday, April 23, 2007

Take Responsibility - Stop Saying "you"

Okay, today's post is a rant. Have you ever noticed that people constantly use the pronoun "you" when referring to events that they experienced themselves? Why don't people take responsibility for themselves?

Here are a few examples:

Example #1
When asked: "What was so good about that movie?" a person responds: Well you can really get into it. You sit there watching it and you feel the emotion of the score and then you get all teary eyed and you...

Do you see what I mean? I didn't "really get into it." I didn't sit there and I didn't feel the emotion... YOU did, so say it!

A better response would have been: Well I can really get into it. I sat there watching it and I felt the emotion of the score and then I got all teary eyed and I...

Example #2
When you're in a position like mine, you have to really try hard to do your best. If you don't, then the boss will catch you not doing your job and you'll be fired.

How about you take responsibility for yourself. Try this instead:

When in a position like mine, I have to really try hard to do my best. If I don't, then my boss will catch me not doing my job and I'll be fired.

Example #3
I like to play the guitar because you learn how to read music, and you can play songs from the bands you like and then you might be able to start your own band.

Try this instead:

I like to play the guitar because I learn how to read music, and I can play songs from the bands I like and then I might be able to start my own band.

So take my advice: take responsibility for yourself. Don't say "you," say "I."