Accountability. The very word has that ring to it synonymous with a stern-faced parent or employer sucking the enjoyment out of life with every breath. The heart starts to race. The pressure is on. Don’t let them down. And yet, accountability undeservedly gets a pretty bad reputation.
On the surface, it’s simply a matter of being accountable or responsible. We are responsible for everything we do and say on a daily basis without giving it much thought. So, what’s the hang-up?
The hang-up is that “accountable” implies that the responsibility answers to someone. Then the next obvious question is: to whom?
Of course, we can be accountable to others. If I promise to make a papier-mâché bust of Taylor Swift by Wednesday and you acknowledge affirmatively this agreement, then I am accountable to you in that task. However, more often than not, this isn’t the real issue. What can potentially bother me isn’t necessarily the sense that I will let you down, but rather that if I fail in this task what does it say about me? Am I not reliable? Do I not value our relationship enough to do what I promised? Am I capable? Do I really think Taylor Swift is the voice of our generation or do I just say that because her dominating presence is unavoidable in today’s pop culture?
So, when we really think about it, the most important – and unconscious – person we hold ourselves accountable to is ourselves! You might be thinking: well, that’s okay. I know him and he’ll be lenient with me because we go way back. But that’s hardly the case. Actually, the opposite is true. We’re often harder on ourselves and less aware of it than we are on others.
Why? What’s the value here? The truth is that accountability is your way of taking control of what’s within your control in order to live to your fullest potential. When you know what your core values are – those undeniable and unchanging values that drive you on an innate level…those values that, when you are honoring them it fills your fuel tank of purpose and when you’re betraying them drag you into despair – accountability is the skill to keep your hands on the wheel and drive to where you want to go.
As a self-employed coach, I could focus on my accountability to my wife and kids; the pressure to provide stability and income; the responsibility to be a good role model; the duty to give it all and leave nothing on the field. But how do you think that will motivate me? It would be stressful, filled with anxiety, and I’d be constantly looking to external factors for validation of success. This isn’t exactly a healthy approach and yet, it’s the most common, by far, that we take.
Now, consider the scenario where, as a self-employed coach, I focus on my core values of passion-driven contribution, genuine relationships, and professional integrity. Imagine I’m faced with a situation and I ask myself, which decision honors those core values? Even if the short-term may prove difficult, I know the long-term impact will be fulfilling. When I live my life from this approach, accountability feels more like the lane markers on a highway rather than a whip cracking behind me. And, most importantly, I’m holding myself accountable to myself without judgement or pressure, but rather from a place of innovation and navigation.
So, I invite you to consider how you are accountable to yourself. What are your core values? How can you honor those? If you need some help, we can talk. But the point is to write your story for the only reader who matters…the person who will be impacted the most and the one holding the pen: you.
On the surface, it’s simply a matter of being accountable or responsible. We are responsible for everything we do and say on a daily basis without giving it much thought. So, what’s the hang-up?
The hang-up is that “accountable” implies that the responsibility answers to someone. Then the next obvious question is: to whom?
Of course, we can be accountable to others. If I promise to make a papier-mâché bust of Taylor Swift by Wednesday and you acknowledge affirmatively this agreement, then I am accountable to you in that task. However, more often than not, this isn’t the real issue. What can potentially bother me isn’t necessarily the sense that I will let you down, but rather that if I fail in this task what does it say about me? Am I not reliable? Do I not value our relationship enough to do what I promised? Am I capable? Do I really think Taylor Swift is the voice of our generation or do I just say that because her dominating presence is unavoidable in today’s pop culture?
So, when we really think about it, the most important – and unconscious – person we hold ourselves accountable to is ourselves! You might be thinking: well, that’s okay. I know him and he’ll be lenient with me because we go way back. But that’s hardly the case. Actually, the opposite is true. We’re often harder on ourselves and less aware of it than we are on others.
Why? What’s the value here? The truth is that accountability is your way of taking control of what’s within your control in order to live to your fullest potential. When you know what your core values are – those undeniable and unchanging values that drive you on an innate level…those values that, when you are honoring them it fills your fuel tank of purpose and when you’re betraying them drag you into despair – accountability is the skill to keep your hands on the wheel and drive to where you want to go.
As a self-employed coach, I could focus on my accountability to my wife and kids; the pressure to provide stability and income; the responsibility to be a good role model; the duty to give it all and leave nothing on the field. But how do you think that will motivate me? It would be stressful, filled with anxiety, and I’d be constantly looking to external factors for validation of success. This isn’t exactly a healthy approach and yet, it’s the most common, by far, that we take.
Now, consider the scenario where, as a self-employed coach, I focus on my core values of passion-driven contribution, genuine relationships, and professional integrity. Imagine I’m faced with a situation and I ask myself, which decision honors those core values? Even if the short-term may prove difficult, I know the long-term impact will be fulfilling. When I live my life from this approach, accountability feels more like the lane markers on a highway rather than a whip cracking behind me. And, most importantly, I’m holding myself accountable to myself without judgement or pressure, but rather from a place of innovation and navigation.
So, I invite you to consider how you are accountable to yourself. What are your core values? How can you honor those? If you need some help, we can talk. But the point is to write your story for the only reader who matters…the person who will be impacted the most and the one holding the pen: you.