Taking Control: The Power of Personal Accountability

Taking Control: The Power of Personal Accountability

One of the hardest truths to accept is this: "Your suffering is never caused by the person you're blaming."

Blame is easy. It gives us a temporary sense of relief. It shifts responsibility outward. But here’s the reality—blame doesn’t solve anything. It traps you in a cycle where you wait for someone else to change, apologise, or make things right. And while you wait, you give away your power.

This session is about reclaiming that power. It’s about understanding that while you can’t control other people or external events, you can control how you think, feel, and respond. And that’s where freedom, growth, and success begin.

1. Blame: The Prison of False Perception

Blame feels comfortable because it shifts focus from what we can control to what others have done. But the truth is, blaming others encases you in a mental prison. It keeps you stuck in stories like:

• “I can’t succeed because they didn’t support me.”

• “I’m unhappy because they treated me unfairly.”

• “I’m stuck because of what they said or did.”
  

But what if the real cause of your frustration isn’t what they did? What if it’s the way you perceived it, processed it, and chose to hold onto it?

The mind creates stories—attaching emotions, assumptions, and meaning. But when you give away blame, you give away power. You wait for something or someone to change before you can move forward. That’s a losing game.

2. The Power of Perception

No matter how much we try, we cannot control the actions of others. People will:

• Make mistakes.

• Disappoint us.

• Be unfair.

But what happens next? That’s entirely up to you.

It’s your reaction, your thoughts, and your emotions that determine whether you stay stuck or move forward. How you interpret these events decides whether you suffer or grow.

Key lesson: Suffering isn’t created by what happens to you. Suffering is created by how you attach to what cannot be changed.

3. Personal Accountability: Reclaiming Your Power

Personal accountability is not about excusing bad behaviour or pretending pain isn’t real. It’s about taking back control. It’s about understanding:

• While pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

• Difficult situations can be lessons or burdens—you decide.

• Growth happens when you shift from a victim mindset to a growth mindset.

When you stop waiting for apologies or external changes, you become free. Your success, peace, and future become things you shape, not things that happen to you.

4. Breaking the Cycle: How to Own Your Response

a) Recognise the Narrative

Ask yourself:

• What story am I telling myself about this situation?

• Am I waiting for someone else to change for me to feel better?

• What part of this story is within my control?
  

b) Shift the Focus Inward

Instead of asking, “Why did they do this?” ask:

• “How can I respond in a way that helps me grow?”

• “What can I learn from this?”

• “How do I want to feel about this a year from now?”
  

c) Let Go to Move Forward

Letting go of blame doesn’t mean forgetting. It means refusing to let past pain define future possibilities. It’s choosing growth, peace, and action over resentment.

d) Practice Response-Ability

Responsibility = Your ability to respond. Every situation offers a choice. You can:

• React based on old patterns and blame.

• Or respond with clarity, strength, and ownership.
  

5. Why This Matters in Our Team

In recruitment, in sales, and in life, things won’t always go your way. Clients will say no. Candidates will let you down. Deals will fall through.

The easy option? Blame.

• “They didn’t make a decision fast enough.”

• “They didn’t see the value in what I was offering.”

• “They weren’t honest about their intentions.”
  

But the real power? Ownership.

• “How can I communicate value more clearly next time?”

• “How can I anticipate objections earlier?”

• “What can I do differently to influence the outcome?”
  

When we take full responsibility for how we show up, how we think, and how we react, we stop waiting for others to fix things. We become unstoppable.

6. The Choice is Yours

The world won’t always be kind. People won’t always meet your expectations. But how you think, respond, and grow? That’s always your choice.

Let go of blame. Take responsibility for your story. Because the moment you do, you reclaim power, freedom, and control.

Final Thought:

“Freedom begins the moment you stop blaming and start owning.”

In the end, life doesn’t happen to you. It happens because of you.

Let’s step into our power—together.

Mark Goode CEO, Inspired Recruitment Changing the way recruitment works. Making it personal.

Mark Goode is the CEO of The Inspired Recruitment Group which originated with the inception of Inspired Selections a recruitment agency primarily focused on recruitment in the optical industry before branching out into audiology and pharmaceutical recruitment. New optical opportunities are featured daily here or if you're a business, looking for help with your recruitment needs, get in touch here