What is America’s favorite pastime? Some people would have you think it is baseball. Afterall, it is called the “National Pastime.” True, a lot of people attend all types of baseball games…from little league to major league games. Some people think baseball is a bit slow. Someone once said that baseball is 15 minutes of action packed into 3 hours! Some people believe golf is the national pastime. It certainly has continued to gain popularity and participants over the years. Personally, I don’t like to play golf because I stand too close to the ball … after I hit it!!
However, there is another pastime that Americans are crazy about. Despite its popularity, this pastime should be avoided at all times!
It is called “transference of blame.” It is easy to blame others for our condition, our problems, our state in life. We do it all the time:
“Mom, it isn’t my fault I failed that test. You see, the teachers asked questions from the book! I thought they’d be from his lectures!”
“Boss, it’s not my fault the customer didn’t buy. I showed up at 1:45 … for the 1:00 appointment!”
Of course it’s not our fault that we do this. The blame goes to Adam and Eve. They started it all! God asked Adam if he’d eaten the fruit. Adam said, “Lord, let me tell you about that woman you gave me.” Eve said it was the serpent’s fault … and we all know that the snake didn’t have a leg to stand on!
We are responsible for our thoughts and our actions. We are responsible for our hits and our misses. We are responsible for our success and our mistakes. If others are responsible for our success, then we need to invest in those people! We need to send them to schools and to seminars and to educate them. Once they are better, we will get better. Once they are great, our lives will be great! No, I don’t think so.
You know that it doesn’t work that way. We must stop blaming others. We must stand on our own and make our own way in this world. We all need to avoid the pastime of “transference of blame!”