Not every problem in the room is your homework. Some of it belongs to other people’s backpacks.

Noticing a problem creates a feeling of responsibility that is not the same as being responsible. If you are quick to see what needs doing, you will end up carrying things nobody assigned you, and the people whose problems they are will comfortably let that continue. Awareness is not ownership.

When something bothers you, work out whose it actually is before you pick it up. Where it is not yours, name it once and leave it with them. You can care about an outcome without becoming the person responsible for producing it.