Are You Really Being Accountable?

In the last handful of years, there has been an increased focus on accountability and taking responsibility for our actions. I have really appreciated the energy and attention to wanting to do and be better, primarily birthed by Gen Z and Millennials. It’s about time!

But are we truly being accountable, or are we just telling people what we’ve done wrong and why we did it?

I invite you to read the full article on being accountable, including the steps to cleaning up mistakes here: Are you really being accountable?

Being responsible and accountable is about changing our behaviors, and the patterns that create them. It’s not about treating a specific person better or differently, so they like us and keep us in their lives. It’s about growth and development.

I remember back in 1989 when I was a newbie at Alcoholics Anonymous. There were many things that were disturbing to me about early recovery, I think the one that irked me the most was when people were sharing about making amends, as part of the 12 steps of recovery. I would sit in meetings when people brought this up and freeze. The idea of me going back and saying I was sorry to people who I had harmed seemed terrifying! And that was before I truly had any understanding of the difference between making amends and saying I’m sorry. The good news for me was that I did not plan on staying in AA or NA long enough to do any of the steps, therefore, deep down I knew that I would never have to actually do the Ninth Step, which is making amends to those we have harmed. That’s what my mind said, my body said, “Holy Fuck!”.

In case you’re wondering, I did stay around long enough to work through the steps, and made my amends where doing so wasn’t going to harm others.

I invite you to read the rest of this article, my first, @ elephant journal!   Are you really being accountable?

Michael Swerdloff

Providence Holistic Counselor, Coach and Reiki