Accountability: Don't Lead Without It!

Accountability: Don't Lead Without It!

"It is what it is, but it will become what you make of it." - Abraham Lincoln

The top quote may be recognizable to some. Especially the first part of it, the it is what it is part. Many people use that as a favorite saying. You see it on phone backgrounds, tattoos, tweets, Facebook posts, etc. But there is a problem with accepting the it is what it is mentality. The problem with that is, is that if you accept that attitude you are eliminating accountability. 

This widespread acceptance of this attitude, is an issue that is really hurting not only athletes, but students as well. Matter of fact, it is affecting everyone who accepts the attitude. This attitude has prevented anything worthwhile in a person's life from happening. Everyone has dreams, but for those dreams to come true, accountability must be there. The definition of accountability is the willingness by someone to accept the responsibility of their actions. 

This simply means that no matter what we do, we must accept what we do. No matter how good or bad things are, we must accept what we have done. Or lay in the bed that we have made, so to speak. You may be reading this and saying, well that is pretty easy, but it is most definitely not.

An example of someone taking accountability for their actions is none other than Winston Churchill. Churchill has been hallowed as a hero for standing up to Nazi Germany, when they were at their mightiest. When many in the UK were telling him to appease Hitler or to concede the UK to Germany, Churchill declined and instead gave the British one of the greatest speeches of all time. Churchill's famous quote was this, "we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."  

Churchill understood that something must be done. That if you simply tried to appease Hitler, then the UK would be destroyed. That someone had to take accountability for the responsibility to fight back and to protect the United Kingdom at all costs. And no doubt the Brits survived. After this speech, the Brits survived the Nazi air raid, and really helped change the tide of World War II. Churchill took the responsibility to understand that this fight needed to happen, but it also took a toll on his health. Churchill lost plenty of sleep, was depressed, and anxious. But this all comes with accountability. Now I am not saying that we all will be like Churchill if we become accountable for our actions. All I am saying is that taking accountability for your actions is not an easy thing. But it is a fulfilling thing. 

If we take accountability for what we do, therefore we will grow. How does a dream become a goal? Well we take it upon ourselves to write down a plan. This plan has a goal, and if we take accountability for our actions therefore that is how our dreams come true. Accountability is a necessary habit that many people are leaving behind by just simply not taking our controllables into our thought process. Next time you decide to just give up, remember your controllables and also, take accountability for your actions. Watch how fast quitting stops.