There comes a time when you’re looking at your life and your way of living and you realize you’re not where you want to be. It’s a normal feeling like you have no idea what your path leads to or if you’re even on the right path. Over the years, I’ve found myself questioning every move I made and doubting where I was at. I learned that there’s no timeline or expiration date to finding your “purpose.” It’s not about when or how you get where you need to be, it’s about the lessons you learned along the way and how you moved after those lessons. Self-accountability is the key to a happier and healthier lifestyle. Once you learn the importance of holding yourself accountable, your path becomes a little less bumpy.
By no means, is there a perfect formula to a better and happier life? Life is so unpredictable and obstacles will always be thrown our way. But the most important lesson I’ve learned is to not make the same mistake twice. Honestly, it is easier said than done. It takes a mindset shift and a strong will to really and truly learn from your mistakes. I am guilty of making the same mistake over and over again. I was holding myself back and letting emotion dictate my life, rather than learning from the emotions that were hurting me. I allowed myself to repeat my mistakes because I wasn’t holding myself accountable. It’s easy to blame others and the world for your problems. It’s easy to point a finger at something or someone and make that the face of your biggest mistake. But in reality, all these people and these events that happen to us are lessons. Our job is to learn from them and take the strength and knowledge to not make them again and to continue on your path.
Self-accountability can take the shape of many different things. It can be setting yourself a routine for your own mental and physical health and sticking with it to set aside a specific allotted amount of time to work and further your career and education. As a society, it’s so easy to compare ourselves to others and think that we’re behind in life and others are ahead. But really, there is no life competition with another person. The only person you’re competing with is your old self. Your old self is the one that learned these lessons and now your new self is the one that will take these lessons and make decisions based on them. A better life comes when you know how to learn and grow from your mistakes. Your mistakes don’t define you, but what you do after matters.