Accountability

These thoughts are for my personal growth, maybe you will find them helpful too.

Accountability is hard. It means that I am taking ownership of my choices and subsequent actions. It seems much easier, at least in the moment, if I can shift the blame elsewhere. Someone else or something else, but not me. When we claim to always be a victim of our circumstances, we are never really in control of anything. We may take credit when things go well, but when things go wrong, it just could not be me. Why not? Have we always acted and responded perfectly in every situation? If we are honest, we would all say no. Sometimes outside forces manipulate a situation beyond our control, yet we still have choices to make. I have found in my life that there is almost always something I could have done differently in messy situations. I can look back and try to learn from that and grow, or I can relinquish what I am responsible for and blame shift, which at best leads to no growth but most times results in regression. I have also found that when I have done all I can do, sometimes my best is not good enough and that is ok too. It is not this or that, but simply my best was not enough in obtaining the victory, but it was enough in that I gave all I had. When I do not give it all and I know it, I need to accept that truth; I need to hold myself accountable. Would I have won had I given my best? Perhaps, but maybe not. Would the situation have turned out differently had I responded better? Perhaps, but maybe not. Yet one thing is for certain, if I have given my best and responded in the best way I possibly can at the moment, I can have peace knowing that I tried. I can reevaluate my response and my efforts and see where I may do even better next time. We are all on a journey, however, failing to be accountable can make it a lonely one.