Should People Stay Accountable?

Did you ever put your hand on a hot stove when you were a child? If you did, it was probably the first time you were accountable for your actions. By touching the stove when you weren’t supposed to, you faced the consequence of being burned. If people weren’t accountable for what they did, society couldn’t function the way we need it to. In life, it’s important to have objectives. However, it can be arduous for people to follow through with their goals, as there may be difficult obstacles to overcome to complete them. To get around these problems, people generally find ways to make themselves feel consequences for not completing the aims they set. Some of the ways I’ve make myself accountable are to think about where I’d be if I didn’t accomplish

This is effective because people have expectations of their peers, and will criticize each other for failing to accomplish what the other set out to do. One writer, Irving Wallace, agrees, saying “I publicly announce that I’m going to do something, because I know the downside of people giving me crap for not doing it will motivate me to do it” (Rubin 92). However, this can not work if someone doesn’t have a person that is reliable, as an irresponsible peer won’t be able to help. One example of an unreliable person is my brother. I told him that I wanted to lose weight, and rather than try to help me with my goal, he would buy me fast food every other day, which has attributed to me giving up on my aspiration. Additionally, the cited excerpt mentions the use of professional accountability partners, stating. “Accountability partners often work better if...a person is paid to hold someone accountable” (Rubin 95), which makes sense, as both parties in this situation have an aim. The person who hires the personal trainer needs to make a change in the way he/she lives, and the accountability partner has the incentive of getting paid to help. However, if a friend or family member is being used as an accountability partner, might have little reason to stay on top of their kith’s goals, causing failure to be a more common occurrence, as it was for