Mental health tip: You can take responsibility for your behaviour without carrying someone else’s reaction. Today’s mental health tip is to take responsibility for what’s yours, w...

Mental health tip: You can take responsibility for your behaviour without carrying someone else’s reaction. Today’s mental health tip is to take responsibility for what’s yours, without automatically accepting responsibility for everything happening around you. What belongs to you are: your words, your choices and your behaviour. It’s also your responsibility to recognise when your actions have hurt someone and, where possible, apologise or make a repair. For example, if you spoke harshly to someone, that part is yours. You can acknowledge it, apologise and think about what you’ll do differently next time. But whether that person forgives you straight away, remains upset or chooses to behave badly in return, belongs to them. Their response doesn’t remove your responsibility for what you did, but it doesn’t make you responsible for their behaviour either. This can be difficult if you’re used to believing that whenever someone is unhappy, it’s your job or responsibility to make their feeling go away. So, the next time you feel responsible for someone else’s reaction, ask yourself: What part of this came from my actions, and what part belongs to them? Take ownership of your part. Then see if you can leave the rest with the person it belongs to.