Placing Blame on Others Is Something We Do From an Early Age
Placing blame on others is the focus of The Blame Game book. When we blame we do two things: we deny culpability and we shift responsibility to others. We effectively give up control of our lives. We tell the world that we do not have control of our thoughts or our actions. Placing blame on others is done from the time that we are infants. We learn the behavior by copying our role models, our parents. As parents we indulge even though we try to teach our children to be responsible for themselves. Do as I say, not as I do. As siblings we also indulge blame in the form of the sibling blame game, otherwise known as sibling rivalry. As we get older, we also learn from friends. There are several well-accepted blaming techniques which involve distinct methodologies for placing blame on others. These types of blames range from blatant blames, deceitful blames, casual blames, subtle blames, silent blames and innocent blames. Each type of blame has a specific purpose and optimal time. Blaming is driven by tremendous and overwhelming urges.
It is a behavior that seems very natural, yet it is fraught with deleterious and negative consequences. Placing blame on others leads to a lack of respect for people and for relationships. It restricts our personal growth, decreases our chances of actualizing our potential and relies on negativity to fuel our fire. It often happens when we attribute external events to other peoples’ characteristics. In other words, we make a fundamental error of attribution.
Learn more about proper blaming techniques when placing blame on others by reading The Blame Game.
