Having an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for one's actions is what drives our own successes. External roadblocks will always be present, but it's what you do with these setbacks that will dictate your level of accomplishments. Will you succumb to victimhood or will you be accountable?
Being accountable simply means to take ownership of your decisions and actions. Blaming external circumstances on the results of your life disempowers you. Once you see yourself as powerless in any situation, that makes it easy to relinquish motivation. If you believe that the outcome of any circumstance is completely out of your hands, then you have given yourself permission to give up. This is why accountability is the magic key to changing your life.
Taking accountability for your life is such a powerful feat but it can be painful. It’s not easy to accept that your own choices play a major role in creating or perpetuating deferred dreams. What’s easier is to shift the blame onto someone or something else because that helps you to avoid the pain of self-reflection and removes the burden of responsibility. The only way to re-gain your power is to fully accept how big of an impact your actions (or failure to take action) can make.
Granted, life happens and unforeseen events can set us so far back that it can feel almost impossible to return to a path where you’re moving in the right direction. The real secret to coping in the wake of hard times is to ask ourselves “What can I do that is in my control?” This magic question leads us to the wonderful road of self-accountability. You may have lost your job, you may have been evicted you may have had your heart broken and all of these situations demand the proper grieving required to process difficult emotions. However, using hard times as evidence that you should give up on aspiring to do and be more is doing all of us a grave disservice. Instead, ask what is in your control and what action will you take next?
The good news is taking accountability for yourself doesn’t only force you to take a critical look at how you may have been contributing the negatives in your life. You also have to take accountability for the things that you’re doing right. Take accountability for the skills you possess, the positive traits that you have honed and the amount of work you’ve accomplished. That kind of accountability helps to empower you and make you realize that your decisions hold weight. Take accountability for the good, take accountability for the bad, take accountability for anything that you have the power to influence.
The moment you accept yourself as the main source of impact in your life, you will see changes. You will feel energized to complete goals. Your self-esteem will increase because you now understand the power of your actions. Slowly but surely your life will start to look better, more hopeful, more accomplished because you no longer see yourself as a victim of circumstances. You are now a commanding force capable of rising above any life challenge because you have armed yourself with the authority of accountability.