Why is responsibility so scary? If you look into explanatory dictionaries, you will find there: RESPONSIBILITY. Duty, the need to give an account of one’s actions, deeds, etc. and be responsible for their possible consequences, for the result of smth. (Dictionary of the Russian language, 1999) RESPONSIBILITY. The obligation to be responsible for the consequences of actions taken; the possibility of being punished for bad results. activities. (Large Explanatory Dictionary, 2014) You can go deeper and decipher the etymology of the word responsibility itself (where the root is “answer”) and the meaning of the expression “to give an account”: To give oneself an account is to understand, to realize something, to understand something. Not being aware of it - not realizing the significance of what is being done, unconsciously. (Russian Language Dictionary, 1999) That is, on the one hand, responsibility is a conscious, clear, distinct understanding of one’s actions, their causes, methods, consequences. Meeting with the reaction of the world, with the answer to your actions. It seems like it’s no big deal. However, in different variations of definitions in different dictionaries, the words obligation, necessity, and even punishment certainly appear. Lack of freedom - this is what frightens (and they report - to someone, and demand an answer - someone who seems to be older, stronger, smarter; a certain judge, a strict, observing and punishing authority). It is interesting that in English responsibility, in addition to the already familiar root response (response), there is also a component from the basis ability - ability, opportunity. That is, responsibility is understood as a willingness to answer, to give an account, and not as an obligation and necessity. Why Russian responsibility is always interpreted through the concepts of duty, obligation, coercion is a mystery. It’s as if in our mentality it’s not at all imaginable that a person voluntarily chooses for himself some desired, feasible load, a burden on his shoulder - they don’t take responsibility from us, it comes, it’s assigned, imposed: take it, take it, be responsible, answer !And no one cares whether you want to, whether you can be responsible for it, whether you are capable, whether you have the strength and resources to do it. As they assigned at school: you will be responsible for the flowers, you will be responsible for the wall newspaper, you will be responsible for sports; and it’s good if this at least somehow coincided with the real interests of the children. Meanwhile, only readiness, opportunity, ability and desire to do something is the basis of responsibility.