What are the factors that make responsibility feel like a burden to some, while like an opportunity to others?

Question

Please note that I am not looking for any HR funda.... I am looking for a philosophical view.

Answer 1

Here are a few factors I can come up with:
- Outlook on life. If life as seen as a gift, a new responsibility can seem like a way to affect the state or change we want to see in the world. On the downside, some may welcome responsibility in a negative way.. that would be controlling or manipulative people. If life is seen as a painful chore, then responsibility may mean just one more annoyance.
- State of readiness. When someone already has a mountain of issues they need to deal with, they may not welcome one more thing and see it as a burden.
- Resources. Both knowledge and monetary. Some responsibilities require one, the other or both.

Personally, I can feel energized or burdened. It depends on the day and the responsibility. I like the question and realize that, when I'm at my best, I know when it is right to accept a new responsibility.
Life to me is balance.
Wisdom is knowing the true capacity of our knowledge and ability... never over- or underestimating.

Answer 2

How we understand the subject/object of our responsibility will dictate the extent to which it is a burden or opportunity.

If we believe we are responsible primarily for what goes on around us we have chosen a burdensome task. We may also see it to be one full of opportunity but the opportunities are in other people and we are doomed to discover at some point in time we can exercise no responsibilities over others.

Alternatively if we believe we are responsible, individually, for ourselves, that reduces the scope to something manageable. Of course our first responsibility is to let others (assuming they are able) to look after themselves so we can retain that focus on ourselves. This is not selfish, to the contrary when we take responsibility for ourselves we do the world a favor. The challenge is to learn who we really are, as opposed to whomever we have been conditioned to believe we are. When we know ourselves then we have the opportunity to freely respond to others without agenda or prejudice. The effect is to be able to contribute with empathy, justice and love.

Unfortunately, despite the burden that goes with taking responsibility for others, this is often a short term preference because it will not interrupt the pretense we might have learned that places a mask of identity between ourselves and others. When responsibility is a burden it is one we have chosen to carry. When we notice responsibility feels like a burden, that's when the opportunity arises.

Answer 3

Just an off-the-cuff observation: People who view responsibility as a burden believe they have the right to make themselves into their own gods. They feel they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want, with no regard to the consequences. So the reason they view responsibility as a burden is because they don't want to answer to anyone else. On the flipside, people who view responsibility as an opportunity have a larger view of life. They realize the world doesn't revolve around them, that anything we say and do has the potential to affect others, that rules are necessary to protect a person's safety, freedom, and property, and that the best way to make the world a better place is to get off your butt and do something to try and make a positive change -- even if it doesn't have the desired effect, trying and not achieving your goal is better than not trying at all. BOTTOM LINE: The one overriding factor that contributes to a person's view of responsibility is their maturity level. Those who view responsibility as a burden are children, regardless of their age. Those who view responsibility as an opportunity are adults.

Answer 4

It is dependant on their own particular value concepts. That is to say it depends largely on what they want to achieve in life...

It wouldn't be safe to say that it is always the same people who would see responsibility as a burden and others who see it as an oppurtunity.... as it truly depends on the precise situation.

But what it generally comes down to is whether they subconsciously believe they are making a net-gain or a net-loss from the endeavour.... i.e. whether it is worth doing the work to get the payback or not.

Then again there is the factor of whether they are generally pessimistic or optimistic. That does play a part, though it is not the whole of it by any stretch of the imagination.

Answer 5

If the same task is seem by some as a burden, yet by others as an opportunity, the answer might lie within intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.

Intrinsic interests are the things that you want to do because you enjoy them, strongly believe in them, or hold in very high value. You can see this phenomenon in volunteer opportunities: many, highly paid professionals will volunteer for favorite charities because they believe in the cause. They give more in labor than the charity would be able to pay them for.

Extrinsic interests are what we do because we are paid to do them, or required by law, or we are expected to do them. Since they do not flow from our actual, intrinsic interests, they are burdensome. If you want someone to stop doing something, offer to pay them for the offending behavior. Eventually, they will "call in sick."

Answer 6

All of us dream and hope for many different things. That is what makes human kind so beautiful and is one of the many things that differentiate us from other animals.

-A Man who never wanted children will find the responsibility of them burdening, where as a Man who always dreamed of having a family, will find it as a wonderful opportunity that he has looked forward to, for many years.

Being so complex in our ideals and procedures that encompass our lives, opportunity and responsibility can be one in the same, causing a load of burden on our lives. Like the example of a college student, working full time and going to school. The burden of responsibility and opportunity can be one and the same.

Alas, as time progresses our goals may change, what we want out of life may ultimately be turned around. So previous responsibilities may become burdens, as new hopes for the future arise.

:o)

Answer 7

I think it all depends on how we view life. Either we are optimistic or pessimistic. Some people view everything as negative and feel everything they do is hard and they feel as if they can't get through it because they have their priorities screwed up or where they shouldn't be. While others view it as an opportunity to learn what life throws at them and learn from the experience.

Answer 8

The factors? Endless. Your upbringing, your life experiences, your past choices, your wishful thinking, your breakfast that morning, your mood that second, your hormone level, your fatigue level, etc etc etc. A universe of choices/outcomes each and every second we exist. There are no definitive factors that make up anything...it's all linked someway. Somedays a responsibility will feel like a door opening to me, while another time the same responsibility feels like a cage. And there are no discernable factors I can use to predict this.

Answer 9

most things in life are relative, its all in your view, your outlook , your perspective,,, that defines what reality is,,,,,,, what forms your perspective is often your own personal history, hopes, and dreams,,,,,
so, for example, working long hours and overtime might seem a burden to some, yet an opportunity to others, who have plans for their money,, or who had been unemployed at times in their lives,,,,,,,,,,
ps: and i find many things in life, can be both a burden and a opportunity,,,

Answer 10

The factors all have something to do with your level of maturity: The more mature you are, the more you'll likely welcome responsibility, like it is a challenge and an opportunity rather than a burden chore.