People always talk about accountability and responsibility, especially in the business context. It feels like everyone wants people to take ownership for their own mistakes, although it is often hard to find someone willing to take accountability for their own. In my opinion, assigning responsibility and blame is only useful if a crime has been committed. On the other hand, taking accountability is key, and it can be the difference between a good life and a terrible one.
What does taking responsibility mean?
To take responsibility means to take ownership of something, in a custodian fashion. It means that you are in charge of the future of that thing. It means if something happens to that thing, you take the blame. If people have questions about that thing, you answer them. Taking responsibility is all about blame. People are usually expected to be responsible after an event happens. This is because responsibility has to do with causes. Knowing who’s responsible for something is only really helpful in cases of criminality and authority. It matters when you need to know who to punish or what to do. Otherwise, it’s pretty unimportant, as far as I’m concerned.
What does taking accountability mean?
Taking accountability for a situation means taking ownership of it. It’s slightly different from taking responsibility for it. When you take accountability, you make it your mission to change or affect a situation, regardless of who caused it. A good example of this can be in the case of a bad breakup. Your ex could very much have been in the wrong, but if you’re someone who takes accountability, you’re asking yourself how things could have been done differently. You would realize that people are predictable, and that their psychology can be understood. In the future, you’ll behave differently before the breakup happens. This will make things easier for you as the rift grows, or you might even stop the breakup from happening altogether.
Why taking accountability is the key to changing your life.
A lot of life is figuring out what can and can’t control. The things you can control can be manipulated to improve your life, while the things you can’t will only stress you out. When you take accountability, you add things to your circle of control, rather than remove them. It might seem tough when you first begin taking more accountability. Telling yourself “this was my fault” can feel like you’re beating yourself up. Eventually you’ll get used to it, and you’ll be able to find creative solution to any problem, no matter how unforeseen. Have you ever noticed how a lot of rich guys and Alpha male types talk about everything being your fault? That’s because they understand this concept.
Don’t become an Alpha Male type. A lot of those guys are just hurt and suffering and want to be heard in a podcast. They fail to offer any real value and are forced to use exploitative tactics to hawk their shitty wares. Weirdly enough, hawking shitty wares does take work, and a lot of that work requires one to take accountability for their life and situation. This is why those gurus are able to be so consistent and garner such large audiences. They take control of every possible aspect of their lives and use that self-accountability to create results out of thin air. You can do the same thing, but in a respectable and useful field. If you push far enough in such a realm of life, you should succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
