What does accountable mean-the ability to account for yourself
It’s a ‘present tense’ word which means that in any choice you make in the moment, you have the ability to see how it may affect your life down the line.
Most people move so fast that when they take ill- thought out actions at speed, they become responsible- the ability to respond
Thats not what I know in my heart is the best place to be. Think about all the things you ever done saying ‘I wish I never done that’, remember now? Yea, come on we all have them, we rush head on into a decision which really caused us embarrassment or pain even and then we LOOK BACK.
This place at the rear of our heads is called the past, it is to be learned from and only serves as a guidance for us to better ourselves through our thinking and making choices. It is not to be looked at constantly otherwise we would have 2 sets of eyes and not 1, get the hint?
So, here is the trick in being accountable for all your choices, SLOW DOWN, yep that’s right, ease off the juice when you are coming to big decisions in your life, like buying a new car for instance, weigh up all the pro’s con’s and anything else you can muster into the equation BEFORE buying.
How many times have you seen the example of buying a car that people don’t need, can’t afford and end up being in a financial mess after it goes back to the dealership, sounding familiar?
That mess can cost people valuable financial restraints in their lives because the homework wasn’t done beforehand and leaves them with tarnished history in their financial records, equifax, experian to name but a few
Being ‘accountable’ means that you do the sums, count up the payments, cost to fuel, servicing, road tax and breakdown cover and take it off your NET salary. If you have a mortgage then wow, this takes even more homework making sure at the end you do not affect any other type of structured payments you make to other accounts THEN leave yourself cash to spare each week/month to live on
Now I know what your saying, sure, it may make perfect sense to someone who has been educated in money control but to persons who have no incline of income and expenditure then they are guessing and this guesswork indeed can not only affect them but the economy on a much larger scale.
The driving force(pardon the pun) is knowing your choices, doing your homework on where your choices will take you and only then making the choice that suits you best-that’s being accountable
Stop to think before you commit and the golden rule I apply is this, does the choice I am about to make either HELP me or HINDER my progress?
Associations in your accountability are easy to find, friends are always available and willing to lend a voice, just make sure that if your choice is a financial one then enlist the help of someone who has good steady financial background or standing and ask their advice. Look also to your parents, for no-one knows better the mistakes of life and the remedies of those mistakes so enlist the wise counsel of your good old folks back home, not after you have duffed up because normally, they will just get seriously annoyed you didnt go to them in the first place before!
If you are looking to start a business, go on Joint Venture, then same applies, get your head in homework mode, see the projections, build the platforms and only after consulting it through with bank managers or business professionals to ascertain if it is viable business, then do you check to work out if your finances can sustain at least 4 months operational costs with payments to bank/finances WITHOUT affecting your private lifestyle or commitments-thas not only great preperation but astoundingly accountable
Relationships-phew baby! How many times have we seen, been in and watched your kids or siblings get into fast relationships that just didn’t last or worse, lasted far too long resulting in children being hurt, violence in the home, scarred and broken or at the very least affected mentally only to grow up and replicate those same ideals as the parents exampled through their lives? Yes, if you have not been through it, I know you will have seen it for sure so what can we learn from it?
Learning about what it takes to be in a good relationship is as important as who you are in a relationship WITH. The most important thing you have to learn is ‘patience’. Practising patience when it comes to meeting the opposite sex is something we could all have been taught early in school, but it just doesn’t happen. So allow me the priveledge of explaining it through all the mistakes I made and see if it assists in the becoming accountable in relationships status
Like I said, patience, go ahead and write that down, stick it in your back pocket of your jeans, your bag, anywhere but just hold it there and remember that word because it will save months, years even decades of heartache in choosing the right parner for you
Ask around if you get attention from someone, what are they like as a person, what do they do ,who do they socialise with and generally spend some time figuring out that person before moving into a personal space to find out because when you are emotionally attracted to someone, it can be difficult to break away when you realise that you have nothing in common further down the line, even adults make these mistakes
The people you dont want to ask advice from are persons who are having relationship issues-doh!
The best people you can speak to are again coaches who can assist inidentifying your values with you, professional dating sites, parents, people you know who are living happy content with partners. Speak on forums about relationship guidance and make sure you speak silently with the most important person, you. Some just get into a relationship for the sake of one not knowing if it’s what they truly want, TAKE YOUR TIME
Patience will prosper!
Derek Reid | the Recovery Mechanic
“Accountability breeds response-ability.” Stephen R. Covey
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