There’s plenty of room for reflection when you glance into the mirror of your authentic self. No one knows you better than you, and as you evolve throughout your life, you may notice areas for growth that revolve around accountability. Self-accountability is essential to living a life that is meaningful, honest, and brave.
How do you develop self-accountability
There is no zenith when it comes to self-accountability. It is an endless, tumultuous and rewarding wave of learning and grounding the self. We learn by doing, by our relation to others, and by offering ourselves feedback when we find ourselves struggling to integrate. Developing self-accountability takes patience, radical acceptance, and enough self-love to fill your body from head to toe.
Definition of accountability
To define accountability, we must look through the lens of personal growth and development. Accountability is an obligation to show up for a specific responsibility, or in other words, simply taking ownership of your actions. It is a dynamic process and can come in the form of larger experiences or small expectations.
Sometimes, there’s a surplus of nervousness, stress, and anxiety that comes along with taking ownership of anything. Breaking down those tasks into digestible pieces can make those responsibilities more approachable.
Accountability as a skill
Taking ownership and responsibility for your life is truly a balancing act. Being held accountable is not supposed to feel punitive. Instead, try viewing it as a catalyst to help you step up to the plate for the next stage of your growth. Like quicksand, the more you resist, the harder it gets. Learning how to lean into that discomfort can change the levels of resistance you feel.
Examples of accountability in your personal life
You’ll encounter the need to take ownership of your actions in every single area of your life. From your behavior patterns within your relationships to the ability to show up to work on time. When you commit to anything, or a certain responsibility falls into your realm, addressing it head-on (no matter how scary), is essential.
Self-accountability in motion
To become an active participant in your personal development, self-accountability is required. You can’t skip it, you can’t test out of it, and you definitely can’t ignore it. If you try any of the above, your journey becomes so much more arduous than it has to be. In the same way, black mold can spread through the perfect storm of an environment quickly and with massive volume, eradicating that harm means facing it head-on.
Making those commitments
We can’t escape commitment. It greets us with excitement even when we’re not too keen on inviting it in. Commitment and acknowledgment go hand in hand; it’s staring back at your reflection and making a deal. It’s also practicing self-awareness, resilience, and initiative all in one fell swoop.
Following through to the end
When you make a commitment to anything and follow through on your end of the bargain, you prove to yourself that you’re capable of trusting your word– and that others can, too.
That specific truth is perfect for stirring up self-confidence, and it provides you with a clean slate to start your next responsibility. Statements like, “I was able to reach my goal”, and “I can see difficult tasks through to the end”, also offer insight and reflection into your world of self-accountability.
Accountability in the workplace
Your career, even if you’re not working your dream job at this moment, is where you spend meaningful time discovering who you are, where your passions lie, and where you see yourself excelling in the future. A career is an ever-evolving amoeba that requires self-accountability every step of the way.
Accountability to yourself and others
Your journey with your career is dynamic and multifaceted. Accountability to others is just as important as accountability to yourself. When you set a deadline and your team depends on you, meeting that deadline is an integral part of building upon your co-worker’s trust and confidence in you.
Showing up for your team is part of professional development, and when your co-workers and management see you leading by example, they begin to place confidence in your ability to follow through.
The maintenance phase
Everyone has experienced burnout at their job at some point in time. Whether it’s from a heavy workload or personal life stress, knowing how to mitigate and manage that burnout can change your entire approach to your personal and work life. Maintenance is about checking in with the self, honoring the self, and measuring the spectrum of your needs. Maintenance is a crucial building block of being accountable.
Check-in with your mindset
One of the easiest ways to settle into self-accountability is to take emotional inventory and reflect on where your mindset is. A little guidance from a life coach can help you identify what steps you need to take to move forward and continue growing. If you’re ready to show up and be accountable in your life, head on over to my website to learn more.