As my grandma (the Ohio chicken farmer) said, “Nobody’s life is shit free.” She’s right: Our parents mess up; friends let us down; lovers screw up; bosses and coworkers act like morons. There is a huge temptation to blame other people for our problems. As a psychotherapist, I hear this all the time, “I’m so depressed because my mother never paid any attention to me” or “I’m so messed up because my ex cheated on me, and now I can’t trust anybody.” By blaming other people for our problems, we don’t have to be responsible. We get to be victims, and we get the perfect excuse not to change: It’s all their fault.

Sometimes we do exactly the opposite: We blame ourselves for everything. “It’s all my fault,” I’ve heard clients say as they describe their parents, friends and ex lovers as almost perfect. It may be so painful to tell yourself the truth that your parents, lovers or friends screwed up, that you become hyper-responsible. It’s not helpful to blame all your problems on yourself, e.g., “Oh, I’m just so lazy; it’s all my fault” or “I’m just such a frigging mess, I’ve always been this way.” Blaming yourself or someone else for your troubles will get you nowhere. I suggest an alternative: being responsible.

Being responsible means that you tell yourself (and others) the truth about what happened in the past. See it in context; learn something from it and move on. It’s not about denial: you can’t learn anything from saying, “Well, my ex was a total asshole, oh well, whatever…” How can you learn anything from that kind of verbal shrug?

Being responsible is about understanding what happened to us and putting it in context. San Diego author Louise Hay says, “We are all victims of victims.” This sounds depressing, until you look at it from another point of view: Our parents couldn’t teach us anything they didn’t know; neither could our friends or lovers. Everyone is doing the best they can with the knowledge that they have at that time. Few people deliberately set out to mess with our heads; they just don’t know any better. This includes us.

Many people enjoy playing the victim; it gives you the best excuse in the world for being immature and bitter. “They did it to me! Poor, helpless, sweet little me.” This may have been true when you were a kid, but are you going to stay a victimized child for the rest of your life? Blame will keep you stuck there. For example: If your father beat you when you were a kid, saying it was because he loved you, how do you not blame him? Let’s assume he did love you, but his way of showing it was abusive. Being responsible is a process of accepting what happened in your past and validating it in the present, so you can work through it and be free of it. It means being 100 percent accountable for yourself now, in the present. Blame, on the other hand, sounds like this: “This is how I am, and I can’t change it. I hate my dad; and I’ll never stop hating him for what he did to me.” This is how people get stuck in hating and a desire for revenge.

Let me share my formula with you: Blame equals avoidance. Responsibility equals potential for change. If you want to keep on doing the same-old same-old, then stay with your blame. Don’t be surprised, however, when you feel depressed, cynical and bitter. This is where blame takes you. If you want to change your life, start to take responsibility for yourself. Yeah, maybe some nasty shit has happened to you in the past, but what do you want your future to be? If you’re ready to change, seeing the past clearly and (eventually) forgiving yourself and the other “guilty” parties can usher in a new way of living: one full of possibilities and unimagined psychological freedom. The formula doesn’t lie: The choice is yours.