What is Personal Accountability and How to Develop it?

There is great strength in personal accountability as it is the cornerstone of success. You are accountable to yourself first and foremost. If you can’t admit to yourself that you have a problem, how can you ever really attempt to change? Personal accountability is a skill that we all need in life, not just when it comes to work or school. It’s your responsibility and yours alone. Take this personal accountability test and see if you’re ready for the next level!

What is personal accountability?

Personal accountability is the idea that you’re accountable to yourself in certain aspects of life. In the workplace, it’s pretty easy, as you can yell at your boss or coworkers and they’ll take care of it for you. Outside of the work environment, personal accountability is a little more difficult because it may mean that you have to change your behavior or admit that you have a problem.

Personal accountability has many benefits to growth as an individual. These include increased self–confidence, increased accountability, increased productivity and learning, a clearer vision of what you want to accomplish in life and increased feelings of control of your future.

What are some examples of personal accountability?

Personal accountability can be applied to any situation. Some common areas that sometimes require personal accountability are:

1. Relationships

In this realm, you are accountable to the people that you are close with. What this means is you take responsibility for the quality of the relationships with them. You may be accountable for things that take place that you are not aware of or are not at fault for at the time, but you can’t avoid it by saying “oh, that’s just the way things are” because then it’s on you to fix it. If you go on to let it slide then your relationship will suffer and will be another thing that has failed in your life.

2. Friends and Family

Your relationships with your friends and family are no exception. You are accountable for them to a degree. Sometimes your friendships may run a little deeper than you were ready for or they may be more than what you were prepared for, but this doesn’t change the fact that you’re accountable to them as well as yourself.

3. Workplace

You also become accountable for your friendships and family at work, so much so that people can count on you to be there for them when they need you most. Workplace accountability is important for any business that wants to succeed in the long run and maintain its customers/clients.

4. Health

You are accountable for your own health and well-being, which means you must eventually be accountable for the consequences of becoming unhealthy. Being healthy or choosing not to be healthy affects your daily life and your future as well, so it’s important to stay accountable for the decisions you make today in regards to your health.

5. Finances

Including accountability in your personal finances is beneficial as well. Part of being responsible also means being accountable for the choices you make with your money. These choices are often influenced by your emotions and sometimes you will make poor choices because of these emotions. It’s important to be accountable for the decisions, so you can correct them if necessary and decide what actions are needed to become more financially stable in the future.

6. Yourself

A little bit on inception here, but it goes without saying that you are accountable for yourself. Accountability is necessary for your success in all areas, so never forget that you are accountable for your own actions, reactions and feelings.

When you take accountability for yourself and are able to be accountable to those around you it creates an environment of trust and respect. When people know that they can count on you to do what’s best for them, they will be willing to extend the same courtesy in return.

Why personal accountability is important

Personal accountability is important because it means one thing: responsibility for one’s own actions.

And taking responsibility for your actions is a huge part of becoming a better person and creating a better life.

Personal accountability is something that we all possess but isn’t always used. It’s often easier to blame others or external factors for our mistakes and misfortunes. However, this just leads to the same mistakes being made over and over again.

Taking personal accountability for oneself can lead to being more successful in many aspects of life, such as career, relationships, and finances. And it makes one more capable of contributing to society in a meaningful way.

Take some time in your life to reflect on how effective your personal accountability has been. If it could be better, then start using it today!

How do you build personal accountability in 10 steps?

While we’re all not on the same wavelength in the realm of personal accountability, you can improve your life and the quality of your relationships by building accountability into your routine.

Here are the 10 steps to consider:

1. Understand what accountability means for you.

This one is simple. Accountability is subjective to the individual so to you it may mean something else. But it’s essential that you understand what personal accountability means to you because it will help you realize what steps you need to take for your own success:

So while it may be difficult for some of us, let’s try to do our part to build accountability in our lives. Remember that one of the greatest things about personal accountability is that it makes for closer relationships with the people we care about.

2. Learn to be accountable.

It’s important to learn how to take accountability for your actions and decisions because sometimes, you may not always have someone around to help you realize that something isn’t right. This can lead to bad situations that you may never have been able to avoid if it wasn’t for personal accountability.

3. Take accountability for your decisions and actions.

It’s essential to realize that you take full responsibility for your choices. You are the only person responsible for your actions. If you don’t make a decision, then don’t be afraid to say “no” when asked if it is appropriate for you to do certain things. You also can’t make a decision or take another action just because someone else made it first or because of their influence on you, especially if they are making decisions that aren’t in your best interest or against what you want.

Being accountable for your choices will help you to develop the ability to make better decisions that you can live with in the future.

4. Accept and acknowledge others’ accountability.

When it comes to accountability between individuals, they should take responsibility as well. This means accepting that someone else is responsible for their part in a situation even if that person has no idea what really happened or how they can fix it. You have a responsibility as well to accept their accountability and take full responsibility for the situation.

5. Make your best effort to make things right, even if it’s not your fault.

Sometimes the situation isn’t your fault, but that doesn’t mean it’s not your responsibility. If you are involved in a situation and there is a way for you to make amends or right the wrong then you should do whatever is possible to fix it, even if it wasn’t entirely your fault.

6. Don’t use excuses or blame others.

You don’t want to start thinking of other people as scapegoats for your mistakes (or potential mistakes). You want to take responsibility for whatever you are doing so you can learn and improve. If you are blaming someone else, then you’re starting a cycle that doesn’t lead anywhere but to a negative place in your life. The only way out of this never-ending cycle is if you start being accountable, which will help lead to better decisions in the future.

7. Learn from your mistakes.

Sometimes something bad happens and a mistake is made because of it. It doesn’t mean you’re an awful person, but it does mean that there are some things to be learned from the situation you were in. Learning how to take accountability and accept responsibility for your actions will help you to grow as a person and do better in the future.

8. Make a plan for improvement after something goes wrong.

You may not be responsible for something that goes wrong in your life but there’s always a way to make things better. There has to be. So don’t succumb to your mistakes, but rather use them as a learning tool and improve for the future.

9. Understand that everyone makes mistakes.

We aren’t responsible for everything that happens in our lives. Sometimes bad things just happen and there is no way to prevent them from happening. So it’s important to understand that everyone makes mistakes, but how much you decide to own your mistakes is up to you. Nobody can take full responsibility for what happens in their life 100% of the time.

10. When you make mistakes, own them.

Even the most trustworthy and honest people make mistakes sometimes. To learn and improve, it is essential that you admit your mistakes to yourself and take full responsibility for them, or accept that they were beyond your control. If you can’t accept that responsibility then don’t do things in the future that you know will cause a problem.

There are no mistakes in life. There are only lessons. When you learn the lesson, you will be better at it.

How to measure personal accountability?

Measuring personal accountability can be tough but here are some ways to assess it:

1. Write down your goals and track how you are going.

This can be in all facets of life. Your physical well being, your finances. What ever it is you want to be accountable for create a plan. Write it down and be honest with yourself. Are you on track?

2. Take the “No More” Pledge.

It is a commitment to yourself to take responsibility for what you have done. Take the time right now to ask yourself: “What was I thinking when I did that?” or “How do I feel about that?” Write it down and see what your answer is. Take the “No More” Pledge and make a commitment to yourself not to do it again.

3. Put yourself in place of someone you love.

How would you feel if you loved that person and they made that mistake? How would you attempt to intervene if they continued to make the mistake? Take a 15 minute break and think about it. Think about what you can do to get them out of that situation.

4. Keep a blame meter

Identify what you blame others for at work. How would you like to be treated if you were treated that way? Chances are the person who treats you this way would not get along well with you. Next time you hear yourself say “I could have….” Think about how this is similar to what the person who treats you like that wants. Do the same thing to them and see how they feel.

5. Find a personal accountability buddy.

This is next level accountability . It’s when someone has the guts to step up to you and call you on the things that you are doing wrong. Do not dismiss them as a naysayer or someone who cannot support your growth. They are your accountability buddy because they have your back.

6. Be willing to be wrong, be wrong, and then keep going.

Wrong doing is habit forming. But it is also part of becoming the best person you want to be and building character in yourself and others around you. People often criticize others too much and that often leads to the acceptance of a person’s negative behavior. If you think about it, this is easy to see.

People on the verge of doing something wrong before they do it are most often people who have been wronged by others. That is wrong and that is a habit people get into in their lives. It is why so many people feel entitled and do not feel accountable for their actions. This has led many powerful leaders down paths of destruction and destruction to others around them.

What factors affect personal accountability?

There are many factors which can affect a person’s accountability. The first thing that should be kept in mind is that, “It is not our deeds that make us accountable for our actions, it is our thoughts about those deeds.” While it is true that most of the time our upbringing determines who we are and what we do, yet circumstances can still change a person.

1) If one understands the power of their mind and uses it to their full ability, the self-discipline they develop will affect all areas of their life.

2) It is important to have a sense of integrity and honor. These concepts are not only nice to have, but is also essential for one’s personal development. When one thinks right, he/she will act right, and vice versa.

3) People who do not feel any urgency are far more likely to procrastinate than those who can visualise an end result and want to achieve it as soon as possible. “Eagles flap their wings faster than other birds because they want to fly higher and farther”.

4) Lastly, one must be able to identify what it is they want. What you get in life for you is of absolutely no consequence whatsoever, but what you do with what you have is everything.