I like this word, accountability. In my head, I imagine a ledger filled with a list of responsibilities off to one side and a list of things done off to the other. It’s a very literal representation, like real accounting ledgers. But that’s how I imagine accountability and being accountable. It means you are expected to justify your actions or decisions.

What we do in life impacts others as well. Some of our actions may have consequences that affect other people, and may have a big impact on their lives. There is no greater example than our responsibilities in a work environment. In a work environment, people are cogs in a big wheel, and their actions affect the organization as a whole.

Bosses, supervisors, managers, and most about anyone who can help you advance your career give their trust to those employees who they deem reliable. Parents, mentors, friends, and most about anyone who we love, give their trust to people they can rely on. See a trend here? the person who is most responsible is most admired. Makes sense right? We want to be around people we trust.

How does one get to be this responsible person whom everyone admires?

Take care of your own thing – and be consistent!

No one wants to be constantly micromanaged, in the same way that nobody wants to be looking over your shoulder to see if you’ve done the job they’ve given you correctly or at least satisfactorily. So take care of your own thing! Don’t let anyone else remind you of your tasks, or manage your actions, or steer the direction of your life.

Be answerable for your own actions.

When a responsibility is given to you, really own it! Own it from conception down to the execution. Be accountable for your own actions. When things go wrong, the first and foremost sign of maturity and responsibility is to accept the blame. Accept that things could have been better and that there could be a lot of room for improvement. Never ever blame someone else for something that YOU should be doing. As a rule, being a responsible person entails not blaming, complaining or giving excuses. Complaining is just another way of saying that you can’t handle the situation with the resources you’re given and the cards you’re dealt with. Giving excuses is just as worse as blaming and complaining. It means you’re not really ready to take the responsibility.

When you promise or agree to something, DO IT!

My good friend lives and dies by a very good creed. He’s one of those guys who just goes and does what he says. Even if it takes him a some time to do as promised. He says it builds character and fortitude, and that no matter how hard or how long, he always tries to do what he promised. It’s a pretty simple rule, really – to do what you said you would. But most of us have a really hard time. It’s about time we put in some real effort to do as we say.

Be reliable.

Remember the feeling of being trusted with the scissors for the first time when you were a little boy or girl? That felt good right? It is a good feeling to be trusted with something no matter what your age is. Also remember to take care of things you borrow, never put off returning them, lest you forget to return them or God forbid, misplace the thing you borrowed. Other people’s property are valuable to them, that’s why they have them in the first place. So for you to borrow something they own, they trust you enough to know that they will eventually get it back.

Use good judgement.

Murphy’s Law states that if something can go wrong, it will. So, it is up to us to use our good judgement and realize that there are things that we cannot control. You cannot take responsibility for the company going bankrupt, or for a friend who always has no money because of bad choices and unhealthy shopping habits. You can focus on doing a good job on an assigned project and you can focus on earning money to cover your share of the rent. You SHOULD focus on things that you can do something about, that are within your responsibilities, and do not stress over things you cannot control.

We live in a world shared with other people. That  means we are responsible not only for ourselves but for others as well. Being aware of this is a trait reserved exclusively for those who are mature enough to understand that our choices might affect someone else. So always be responsible. Also, remember to: Stay Humble, Hustle Hard. Good luck!

Written by Jaie O. – The Help