This one might be a little self-explanatory. One is responsible for one’s choices. It’s a hard one to swallow for everybody, myself included, and I wrote the damn list. It’s a two-edged blade of a Satanic principle – on the one hand, owning choices that lead to success is empowering, but on the other it’s easier and saves face to shift the blame for any bad choices on somebody or something else.

However, you cannot learn from your poor choices if you don’t claim them as your choices. By shifting the blame, you are putting yourself back in your cycle of bad decisions, and priming yourself to make the same decisions again. By blaming another person or your circumstances, you not only become a slave to that person or circumstance, you are also giving up your own power and agency.

But taking responsibility for your choices isn’t just claiming them. When you take responsibility for your choices, it’s an actual responsibility. Yes, you do get the credit for positive outcomes for your choices, but you also get the credit when there’s a negative outcome. Which means you’re the one who gets to do damage control when you make bad choices. You should do all in your power to make right any mistakes you’ve made thanks to your choices. Sometimes that’s not possible; some bad choices are irreversible. You’re still responsible for them. Accept that you can’t fix it, then accept the consequences for your choices with dignity.