Do you know someone who just cannot seem hold themselves accountable for their actions? Or is that person you? They convince themselves that they did nothing wrong and even see themselves as victims to the actions of others.
Holding yourself accountable forces you to see how you may have contributed to an undesirable outcome or how your actions may be the reason why a certain event transpired. This may be scary for some which is why people find it easier to shift the blame or victimise themselves. People avoid holding themselves accountable because it would mean having to take a step back to look at the undesirable parts of our actions and take responsibility.
This poses the threat (though it doesn’t need to) to how we perceive ourselves. For example if you identify as a kind person, but do something that’s unkind, you may feel like you’re not living up to who you are. The labels we identify with ‘kind, empath, family person, great lawyer’ etc, make us feel pressured to live up to their expectations. When we fall sort of the expectations we impose on ourselves, we may find ourselves feeling guilty, worthless and unable to separate what we did from who we are.
Holding yourself accountable doesn’t have to threaten your identity. You don’t have to feel like a ‘bad person’ because you had a lapse in judgement. Making a mistake doesn’t mean that you ARE your mistake. Your identity expands beyond what you’ve done wrong.
Holding yourself accountable isn’t synonymous with self blame. You don’t deserve to punish yourself because you got something wrong. It’s about recognising that you made a lapse in judgement and acknowledging the role you played in the situation.
Reasons why holding yourself accountable is important:
- It allows you to take your power back- By holding yourself accountable, you are recognising what you have control over and thus empowering yourself to make better changes. When you stay in victimhood, it makes it harder to recognise what you need to do differently to ensure you don’t repeat the same mistakes.
- It allows you to be your higher self & experience soul growth- Your higher self recognises how powerful you are. It advocates for you to make decisions that are in your higher interest. When you hold yourself accountable, you align with your higher self which allows for the best version of you to emerge.
- It helps to validate other people’s feelings- When you hold yourself accountable, you remove some of the blame from others. It’s only fair in situations where you participated in a situation going sour that you acknowledge the role you played. By holding yourself accountable, it helps other people in their journey to self-forgiveness.
- It helps you to lead a more satisfying life- Accountability helps us to realise that we are co-creators of our reality. Therefore, if we want to change our lives, we have to use the power that we possess to make changes so that we experience joy and abundance.
To grow and develop as a person, you need to hold yourself accountable for your actions. When you are accountable, you begin to take an active role in living a fulfilling life. You pour into all areas of your life that need improving because you recognise that you have the power to do so. To experience real joy, you’ve got to be brave enough to hold yourself accountable.
Questions to You:
- Do you hold yourself accountable?
- Why is it important to hold yourself accountable?
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