Own or rent?

The archer who misses the target turns to himself and not to another for the cause of his failure.
Confucius
551 – 479 B.C.

What’s one of the major differences between owning something and renting it? Consider any number of things you could buy or rent: a home, work space, a car or truck, computers, sporting equipment, musical instruments, formal clothes, video games and DVDs; the observation I have in mind largely holds true regardless of the object involved.

Here’s what I think: your attitude towards an object changes if you own it rather than rent it. If you own your home, you act differently than if you were renting. You take better care of it. You’re less likely to ignore a small problem that might turn into a big problem down the road. You invest in improvements and perform preventative maintenance. In short, you’re more careful with every aspect of the house. Owning something gives you a long-term perspective. You know that when something breaks, you’re the one responsible for fixing it.

So far, I haven’t really told you anything new; it’s well known that people who own things generally take better care of them than people who rent. Just think about the last time you drove a rental car. Were you as careful with it as you are with your own car?

This lesson isn’t really about your house or your car. It’s about the problems and issues in your life. Do you own them? Or to put it differently, do you treat them like you own them?

I believe we rarely “own” our problems. This concept might seem foreign to you, so let’s dig a little deeper.

It’s been my experience that most people view a problem as something unpleasant that needs fixing. And they view it as something apart from themselves. They don’t embrace the problem, clutch it to them and say, “This is my problem and I’ve got to act on it. I have to do something and resolve it.”

Too often, we look to see if we can blame someone else for our problem, if we can shift responsibility. Even if we can’t pass off the blame, we may still unload the problem on someone else and let them deal with it.

If we take full ownership of a problem, we will treat it like our house — with much greater care and respect. We know ultimately that it’s ours to fix or accept.

We need to develop the habit of taking full ownership of our lives, problems and all. When you own a problem, you take full responsibility for fixing it. If more people took ownership of their problems, we’d have fewer problems.

We have met the enemy and it is us.
Walt Kelly
1913 – 1973