Uncommon Accountability

4HOLDING OURSELVES ACCOUNTABLE

The driving forces behind accountability are the choices we make moment by moment. Our choice of actions creates the results we experience in life. Our choices, therefore, are best evaluated in the context of our intentions. In other words, are our choices aligned with our most important intentions? Ultimately, to become more accountable in the external elements of your life, you must first become more accountable for what you think about and how you think about those things.

As we explore the process of holding ourselves accountable, we will talk about doing so first at the thinking level. Accountability starts with our thinking, is manifested in our choices and actions, and ultimately is realized in our results. Since our thinking is the fundamental source of the results we achieve, the obvious first place to take greater ownership is in our thinking. Perhaps counterintuitively, the easiest way to identify and understand your thinking is to start by assessing your results and work backward through your actions and then ultimately into the thinking that created them.

As we pointed out in the previous chapter, it is unwise, not to mention impossible, to try to be accountable for everything that happens to you in life. It is important, however, to be aware of your accountability (or lack thereof) in key areas of your life that are either productive ...