It’s hard to admit we’ve underperformed or made a mistake.

It’s hard to admit we’ve underperformed or made a mistake.

Instead, we often blame others.

Research shows that people who blame others as compared to those who own up…

Lose status.

Learn less.

Perform worse.

There’s a Zen story called “Eating the Blame,” where an abbot is having soup with monks.

The abbot discovers a snake head in his soup.

But this wasn’t snake soup.

There was a mistake.

Earlier, a farmer monk went to get vegetables in the garden for the soup.

A snake slithered into the vegetable basket unnoticed by the farmer monk.

When the cook monk prepared the vegetables for the soup, they hadn’t noticed it either.

After discovering the snake in his soup, the abbot called over the executive chef of the monastery.

“What is this?” he demanded, holding the head of the snake.

The executive chef snatched the snake’s head and swallowed it.

“Oh, thank you,” replied the executive chef.

He didn’t blame the farmer monk.

He didn’t blame the cook monk.

“What is it, though?” the abbot repeated.

“It’s the head of a snake,” clarified the executive chef, “eating the blame.”

As the story goes, there was never a snake in their soup again.

When you take ownership, you acknowledge the issue.

You recognize your role in the situation.

You identify what’s in your control and what’s outside of it.

With this, you can implement an action plan, limiting or preventing it from happening again.

Have the courage to “eat the blame.”

When you blame others, you give up your power to change.