The Freedom and Power of Accountability Part 3 of 3

The Freedom and Power of Accountability Part 3 of 3

If you are first joining us this issue I will recap briefly the assignments from the previous two articles.

• To let go of the concept of blame, start by become conscious of when and where in your life you blame, both self and others

• In all life situations, when things are going great and when there are some challenges or troubles, answer the question "what are the choices I made to co-create this experience?"

Now the most important aspect of truly being accountable is the application of the lesson or lessons. The truth is, accountability has become a much more commonly used term over the past 15 years. However there are many people these day professing to being accountable or even more entertaining , taking accountability. I always wonder, taking it from where? The grounding of taking accountability is usually still related to the weight of responsibility and blame and yet the results in their lives never seem to shift.

So here is the measure of true accountability. Our results in life change because we apply the lessons of our life. It is a simple and powerful measure. Simply put, if our results do not change we have not learned the lessons and we keep recreating similar experiences over and over again.

Here is a brief example:

Early on in my journey into entrepreneurship I had an experience of losing a business and with it almost every red cent I had.

The lesson for me was one of participation, without going into all the details, I had abdicated accountability AND responsibility in this situation and the lesson was as follows.

My life was not going to be about chasing little pieces of green paper (money). I needed to do something with my life that had meaning, that made a difference and that I believed was important. In addition I learned that if it's to be it is up to me. What that means to me is that in the experience of losing everything, I had set up a situation where I believed that I could ride on someone else's coat tails. My business partner had the age, the experience and expertise. I thought (consciously or less than consciously) that I could just play my little part safely and he would do the tough stuff and I would get to share in the rewards.

These lessons were applied in a variety of different ways. First of all I chose to go back to school and take business administration so that I would not need to rely on someone else's expertise in the future, I then threw myself into intense personal development to discover what is was that I loved, what did I truly want to do with my life (without the old prime motivation of money). It was these applications of the lessons I learned through losing everything that allowed me to purchase Personal Best Seminars when the opportunity presented itself. If I had not actually applied the lessons from my victim experience, the purchase of Personal Best would not have been possible, or perhaps possible but set up in a manner where I was still relying on someone else to "make it succeed." This experience has provided me many more opportunities to learn the lesson of accountability at a deeper level.

If we choose to accept (and apply) the concept of accountability, then no matter what the circumstance is we can choose to accept, learn and grow regardless of how challenging or difficult it may be.

So the final component of accountability is the capacity to attach meaning and significance to the events in our lives in a manner that supports us to move forward, evolve and more consciously engage in our lives.

Lets summarize with definitions.

Accountability: A framing device that provides the power of choice, participation and co- creation of the experiences and results in our lives, real or imagined.

Victimization: Anything (real or imagined, internal or external) that removes or distances power, choice and action from an individual.

Remember it is not right to be accountable and it is not wrong to be victimized, it is simply a choice we can make to view ourselves and our lives from a position of choice and power or excuses and blame.

If you are ready to step up to an accountable life then use the following 4 declarations, three times a day for the next ninety days and your experience of yourself and your life will transform.

I use accountable language: I, Me, My, my accountable language reflects my accountable life.

I release the concept of blame: I choose not to waste my life blaming myself or others.

I focus on the choices I make in my life. I direct my precious energy to only that which I have influence or control.*

I consciously choose to learn and apply the lesson in all circumstances thus evolving physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

* See the Serenity Prayer