Taking on Responsibility: The Art of Becoming an Adult 

When I look at the generations of my grandparents, parents, and then shift my gaze to ours, I notice something significant. With each passing decade, people seem less willing to take on responsibility—for themselves, their loved ones, and the world around them. We remain like immature children, avoiding the challenges that make us mature, strong, and self-aware. 

What Are We Running From?

We’ve mastered the art of finding countless excuses. Some spend years collecting diploma after diploma just to avoid facing real-life challenges. Others chase career success and material wealth to overshadow the most crucial part of life—family. Still others, hiding behind family difficulties, avoid pursuing personal growth for years. We flee from responsibility as children hide from a strict parent, but in this case, there is no parent—we are only robbing ourselves. Taking on responsibility is intimidating because it demands effort, honesty with oneself, and acceptance of consequences. Yet it is the key to a conscious and fulfilling life.

The Levels of Responsibility

Responsibility is a ladder that a person climbs step by step, becoming not just an adult, but truly mature.

Some people spend their whole lives blaming the world for their failures, while others spend their lives changing the world around them.

Between the first and the second lies a vast chasm, hidden within the levels of responsibility. To fully understand what responsibility is, it is necessary to examine its different levels.

1. Responsibility for Oneself

Be honest with yourself: are you ready to take on responsibility for your life, your actions, your decisions? Responsibility begins with simple things. For example, if you smoke, do you recognize the harm you are causing your health? If you develop an illness, will you be able to ensure that your loved ones don’t suffer from your choices and bear the consequences of your mistakes? Or will you justify your smoking by blaming work stress or life difficulties, claiming it’s not as harmful as people say, citing examples of centenarians who smoked? 

People who haven’t reached even the first level often shift responsibility for themselves onto others. It takes a lot of strength to resist hoping that problems will simply pass you by and to avoid hiding behind other people, the government, or other excuses. Taking on responsibility means accepting reality as it is and being willing to work on yourself.

2. Responsibility for Loved Ones

Nowadays, many avoid building family relationships because they fear this level of responsibility. A whole culture of “free relationships” has emerged, where people avoid commitment so much that they stay in relationships for decades without marrying or taking the next step. “No-strings-attached relationships” is a typical term for someone running from these very obligations. Such relationships are easy to leave at any time, but when you have a family, children, a shared home, and shared responsibilities, you can’t just walk away. You must learn to negotiate. Mature people, ready to take on responsibility, understand the seriousness of family obligations and willingly embrace them.

3. Responsibility for Others

Leaders, managers, politicians—those who take on responsibility not only for their mistakes but also for the mistakes of others. They understand that their decisions affect the lives of many people and are ready to bear this burden. This level requires high self-discipline, honesty, and immense inner strength.

Understanding the levels of responsibility helps to realize that, while many of us have learned to cope with life, not many of us truly live.

Responsibility as a Path to the Summit

Taking on responsibility is not a stroll in the park; it’s akin to the Camino de Santiago (the namesake of our project, Encamino), a journey of 780 kilometers on foot, taking a month to complete, depending on the route.Once you commit to this path, you can’t simply quit whenever you feel like it.

No matter how tough it gets, you must find the strength to keep moving because you remember why you began.

The modern world says: “Tired? Rest. Bored? Change it.” But this isn’t the path of maturity. It’s the path of consumerism, where anything broken is discarded, whether it’s an object, a relationship, or even a person.

A life lived by the principle of “replace rather than repair” impoverishes us, stripping life of depth.

It’s easy to be weak, easy to run away. But it is through effort and tough decisions that a person is forged.

Why It Matters

Responsibility isn’t just about obligations. It’s about freedom. Only those who take on responsibility truly control their lives. It’s about strength of character, the ability to face the truth, and the determination to bring light even in the darkest moments. It’s easy to be weak, but weak people are rarely happy. Their lives are filled with excuses and regrets, but lack genuine joy and pride in themselves.

To take on responsibility is to accept the challenge that makes you human.