How to Be Accountable

Accountability is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for and to repair the harm caused by one’s actions. It features prominently in our relationships, personal lives, and professional lives. Everything from stealing money from work to lying to a friend to making a mistake at school that caused someone else to get in trouble to pressuring your spouse into having sex when they aren’t interested to murdering a stranger on the street—each require accountability, albeit dramatically different kinds. At its heart, accountability is understanding that your actions do not always have the impact that you intend; it is ownership of your actions, working to repair problematic issues, and learning how to prevent patterns from forming or continuing in the future. Sometimes this is as simple as getting to know yourself and apologizing. Sometimes it’s a years-long process to recognize the motivations and behaviors that you see inside yourself and feel like you have no control over. How to Be Accountable will walk you through your own head to understand your own patterns and behaviors, untangle them, and live the kind of life you want.