We live in a place that continues to promote a lifestyle of living in perpetual victimhood. In order to compensate for our deficiencies and faults, we have been told that it is socially acceptable to blame external factors such as other people or things. This is the toxic behavior of deflecting responsibility for anything and dodging accountability. Accountability is the most important part of success in any capacity. The complete dismissal of accountability has led to extreme entitlement and a demonization of everything and anything that could possibly be perceived as a jab at one’s self esteem. Sometimes the truth hurts. The road to success is difficult and unforgiving. Accountability is the only way you will be able to navigate this road successfully.
Cultural accountability
One of the most prominent examples of a lack of accountability in our culture is the obesity epidemic. America is obese at an alarming rate. Because of the culture we have perpetuated in our society, being obese is now a socially acceptable trait. Calling people terms such as “fat” is looked at in the lens of ridiculous terms like “fatphobic” as if being obese is an unavoidable physical characteristic. The truth is, the way to get in shape has never changed. Everyone knows how to get physically fit so they can look and feel their best, yet, so many of us choose the path of least resistance. They blame external factors such as “no time”, “too little of money”, and “too tired” as a scapegoat to avoid what they know will be difficult. America has caught onto this trend and created an industry around “lose weight fast”. Today, people take weight loss pills, get surgeries, and wear machines on their stomach that are supposed to “tone your abs” in lieu of actually putting in the work. This one example is a perfect one to illustrate how society perceives and acts on almost everything. Instead of looking inward, uncovering fault and addressing the problem, people preserve themselves from emotional harm and challenge by blaming everything else for their inadequacies and looking for the easiest “magic” solution to their problems. This trend is a society killer, and if it is allowed to continue, society will spiral farther and farther into this abyss.
Reflecting on harsh realities
Life is hard. Nothing worth having is going to come easy. This is why in order to be the best, you must continually put yourself in difficult situations to overcome time and time again. You must come to terms with your inadequacies and look for solutions to rectify them. Being obese is just one example of this, but there are countless. In order to be the best version of yourself you can be, you’ll need to take a cold, hard look in the mirror and be brutally honest with yourself about where you are in life so you can get better.
How do you look physically? What kind of financial situation are you in? Are you a good husband/wife/significant other? Are you actively doing whatever it is everyday you need to do to achieve your goals? If not, why and how can you change your behavior?
These are just a few examples of the questions you should be asking yourself. Be brutally honest about the answers. Every answer you give, regardless of whether it’s a positive or negative one, is a direct reflection of yourself and your actions. It is nothing and no one else’s fault that you’re in the position you are in. You are in complete control of these things in your life and you need to understand and take accountability for that. No one is coming to save you. You need to step up and do what you need to do so that you’ll begin to like the answers you give to these questions and whatever else you ask yourself.
You are a direct reflection of your actions
It is commonplace today to blame the world and everything in it for your insufficiencies. Whether it’s oppression, racism, sexism, or any other modern buzzword that is thrown around to display victimhood, they all oftentimes represent the same things, a lack of personal accountability. Many times, you can approach people who cry victimhood or that we live in a broken system and ask them what rights they don’t have that others do in today’s day in age in America. Their answer more so than not is a frustrated and emotional taunt using one of the above aforementioned buzzwords and a complete dismissal of the question itself. To be a successful person who answers the questions listed above in a truthful way and is proud of the answers, you must be accountable for yourself. You must understand that there is nothing holding you back other than yourself and your beliefs. Having limiting beliefs is the easy way out because it becomes an excuse for mediocrity. Don’t fall into this deep trap. Your actions are a direct reflection of you. What you do on a daily basis will determine what your life shakes out to look like. You are in complete control. The steering wheel is in your hands. Understand the control you have over your life and its outcomes and you will undoubtedly find the success you desire in every way.