“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”

-Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States

Personal responsibility and accountability are two very important qualities of those who tend to be the most successful in a coaching relationship. People who possess these characteristics know they are the proverbial athlete on the field of their own lives, and only they can put points on the scoreboard.

I often observe, to the contrary, many people playing the victim, putting much, if not all, the blame for their lot in life on others.

President Roosevelt’s statement makes it clear: We, alone, control our thoughts and actions. Hopefully we use them to influence our world for the better.

EXERCISE:

Where would a bit more self-coaching and taking greater responsibility for your current place in life make the biggest difference in your professional or personal life?