Showing up for Yourself – Extreme Accountability

For a decade, I prided myself on being the dependable one. The person who’d shoulder a commitment for the team and see it through, no matter what. High accountability and reliability almost felt like a part of my DNA. When something needed to get done, my instinct was to make sure I delivered, especially if others were counting on me.

Ironically, holding myself to that same level of accountability gets far trickier the moment those “others” disappear from the equation.

This truth hit me with unexpected force when I recently stepped away from the relentless march of corporate life, opting for a career break after ten years of operating at full swing. At first, the wide-open calendar felt exhilarating. I can read more, learn something new, maybe finally start that side project I’d shelved for years. The possibilities were endless, and so was my sense of control. But as the weeks trickled by, a subtle discomfort set in. I’d make plans for myself, small, achievable goals, but found the discipline to follow through oddly lacking.

It’s a humbling realization: it can be easier to deliver for others than it is to deliver for yourself.

Accountability, when self-imposed, demands a different kind of honesty and a deeper why. This break is teaching me that setting expectations with myself and meeting them with the same rigor I’ve always brought to work, is not just an act of discipline, but an act of self-respect.