Humility

There are those who take on an overabundance of guilt. There are others who seem to accept no responsibility whatsoever. Both are extreme. Both are harmful.

There should be some kind of balance between accepting responsibility, having a conscience, regretting some aspects of the past, and yielding to current situations. There is also something to be said about having some modicum of humility - that when a correction is put in, perhaps one should listen and see whether it fits. To do otherwise is arrogant.

That is not to say that one should merely submit to any criticism - that is just as harmful, and is descriptive of the one who assumes too much responsibility, takes on too much of the guilt. That's not helpful either - not as a representation of remorse, nor as a plea for forgiveness. It serves no one to prostrate oneself on the altar of regret. But it serves one greatly to be humble, and in such humility to realize one's errors, realize that perhaps one is not perfect after all, and that one lives within a community.