Are You a Victim or Are You Accountable?

The Buddhist system is based on their Four Noble Truths:

1.      Suffering exists

2.      There is a cause for this suffering

3.      There is a way out

4.      Perfect thought, perfect word & perfect deed

The system begins with a recognition that suffering exists in our lives, our organizations, profit, non-profit and governmental, and in our world in general.

To this point, I have never received a credible argument against the Buddhist system.  I never met anyone who claims that there is a lack of suffering in this world.

The next step in the system is the key to the entire paradigm.  To acknowledge there is a cause for the suffering sets up the possibility that the causes for the suffering could be removed.

You have to choose between the following two viewpoints:

1.      Stuff happens

2.      Stuff happens for a reason

You must choose one or the other.  Either everything that happens is random and we are subject to one uncontrollable event after another; or, everything that happens in this moment was set into motion by actions taken by us or someone else in a previous moment.

If you choose the stuff happens paradigm, you never have to take personal responsibility for what is happening at home or at work.  However, you also have to conclude that you are helpless and hopeless to effect any change in your life or work circumstances.  This is a paradigm of defeat, plain and simple.

If you believe that “stuff happens for a reason”; then this is a double edged sword as well.  You must take some personal responsibility for what is frustrating you in your life and work. On the other hand, you can be filled with optimism and hope that you can change your actions somehow and reduce or remove some or all of these frustrations over time.

What type of person are you?  Does "stuff" just happen, or does "stuff" happen for a reason?