In today’s society, we deem calling someone fat unacceptable, even the excessively obese. We see our friends and family members over-spending and under-saving, but we don’t say a word. Meanwhile, we let that one person who is always late waste our time. However, at one time, family and friends held each other accountable. And more importantly, individuals held themselves accountable.
Personal responsibility, essentially a universal truth, holds power in your life. Without it, your life controls you. With it, you control you and directly impact and generally improves your outcomes.
Personal and Familial to Governmental Accountability
The shift from personal accountability to government accountability affects the outcome. With government accountability, the weakest link limits the best possible outcome. With personal accountability, the individual dictates their outcome for better or worse. However, a bonus lies with personal responsibility. In a personal responsibility environment, we hold one another accountable. This accountability happens both verbally and non-verbally. The spectrum runs from calling each other out to ending relationships.
As I sit viewing opinions from both the Left and the Right, I recognize that ultimately both sides want the same thing. Each viewpoint merely suggests a different path from the other.
The Left defers personal responsibility onto the government. Often citing the rich and powerful are too greedy and corrupt to do it on their own. But, is that true? Why should the few be most responsible anyway? In other cases, they blame a rigged system, skin color, location, or luck. The finger always points away from the individual in question.
The Right favors freedom and opportunity as they see that not all dictates of the government work for everyone (or anyone, depending on who you ask). But when it comes down to specifics, the Right does not oppose helping those in need. Rather, they find that to be a job better suited for individuals in society. Deserving individuals easily find charity, generosity, opportunity, and success wherever they look. Everyone holds the power to be deserving. But, it is a choice.
Be Accountable and Create Greatness in Your Life
Stop being the result of the world around you. Be the cause of greatness and success in your own life. With little exception, the average person needs to be accountable for their health, finances, studies, skills and mastery, behavior, goals, and career to achieve success. Fortunately, with the following nine habits, anyone can become accountable! Five habits relate primarily to mindset, while the others are action based accountability.
Be Accountable Mindset
- Take Responsibility – Actively make decisions. Then, accept and learn from the consequences.
- Never Make Excuses – We waste time and money pointing blame. While objective hindsight allows for improvement, excusing poor choices or mistakes or casting them to an outside factor prevents progress.
- Reject Victimhood Mentality – The world owes you nothing. But, practical and positive attitudes easily overcome obstacles.
- Acknowledge Your Accomplishments – A pat on the back feels great, but that feeling fades. Relying on what other’s think distracts you from what works best for you and your goals. Real satisfaction comes from the effort (or suffering) involved, not from the dopamine hit that a compliment leaves behind.
- Control Those Feelings – We choose to be happy, sad, angry, etc. No one besides you can make you feel any particular way. When we let our emotions control how our day goes, we allow ourselves to be an effect of what happens to us. You can choose to feel however you want at any time.
Be Accountable Actions
- Purposeful Punctuality – Don’t waste your time or anyone else’s. Meeting commitments on time builds your value and trustworthiness. If you can’t do what you have agreed to, you are committing to too much.
- Collaborate or Outsource – No one can do everything. And, even if we could, does it make the most sense to do so? Probably not. In many cases, using other resources results in a better final project and can inspire, empower, and engage.
- Be Proactive and Diligent – Stop the cycle of procrastination in your life. Make a decision and take action. Work hard toward your goals, instead of the goals others place on you.
- Set Clear, Defined Goals – Vagueness creates the desire to procrastinate. Without something to aim for, how do you know which decisions to make? In the presence of defined goals, managing expectations becomes significantly lighter.
Create Greatness
By holding yourself accountable for the outcomes in your life, you allow yourself to create greatness everywhere around you. The nine habits of accountable people foster excellence. As you apply these habits, you will notice the immediate impact. Instead of being a powerless victim of circumstances, you now captain your ship. Rather than having excuses, you will have results and accomplishments – positive stimuli for future growth. When you accept the part you played, you begin to acknowledge reality on a higher level. This change allows you to learn and grow. In truth, you will not always make the right decisions on the first go, but you will find ways to get things done!
What are you waiting for? Go out there and take charge of your life! Your world is in your hands.
We Want to Hear from You!
Each week, I provide an update on my carnivore and personal development journey and information relevant to those curious about Becoming Better Every Day. Please subscribe to our email list for notifications on the latest articles.
We’d love to hear about your success and struggles with being personally accountable for
Links:
Dirty Windshield T-Shirt Store on Amazon
Dirty Windshield Merchandise Shop on RedBubble
Images courtesy of Pixabay