Ownership is the quality of accountability and responsibility. When you feel a sense of ownership, you give your best efforts and take pride in the results. When you take responsibility for your life, you begin to make things happen. You are in control because you stop blaming things outside yourself for your situation. You can create a huge shift in your life simply by taking ownership of your attitude.

Accountability

Taking ownership is all about accountability, taking ownership of what you do and think?including your mistakes, your excuses, your failures to act, and actions that you're not very proud of.

Dismantle the word "accountability" and you'll see that it literally means the ability to be counted on. It means you're willing to take responsibility for the choices you make. It means accepting responsibility for making change happen, whether good or bad. The bottom line is that whether things go wrong or right, you point to yourself as the cause. You're accountable.

Why hold yourself accountable? What does accountability do for you? Accountability puts you in control. It allows you to make things happen. It makes you a potent force in your own life.

Accountability is a whole-life concept: You can take ownership of your career, relationships, finances, education, fitness?everything that's important to you. You can create a massive shift in your life simply by taking ownership of your attitude. Accountability puts you in control?and being in control makes you feel powerful and effective.

The buck stops with you

When you pass the buck, you volunteer for powerlessness. You make yourself a passive ingredient in the recipe of your own life. You remove yourself from the equation.

You've heard, and probably used, denials of ownership that offer excuses, lay blame elsewhere, or otherwise justify actions that did not produce a favorable outcome: the kids made me late ... she didn't send the report ... I would have called, but ... etc. Denying responsibility doesn't make the problem go away, and it may even make you look unreliable and even dishonest. Although denial might take some of the immediate heat off you, it does little to relieve the feelings of guilt and incompetence that come when you know you've let someone down.

And that's the worst part of passing the buck: It erodes your relationships. It marks you as someone who can't be counted on. To maintain the respect of others and keep your relationships solid, the buck stops with you!

Above the line? Or below the line?

To illustrate the key of Ownership in our summer camp and school programs, we talk about playing above the line or below the line. Here's what it looks like:

Above the Line: Choices~Accountability~Freedom~Responsibility~Solutions~Willingess

Below the line: Laying Blame~Justification~Giving Up~Denial~Reasons

When you're playing above the line, you're taking responsibility, being accountable for your actions, and looking for solutions. You're taking ownership. Playing above the line wins you freedom, trust, and success. Above the line, you're not a victim of circumstances because you determine how you'll respond to them.

When you're playing below the line, you're blaming others for your mistakes, justifying your actions, or simply denying them. Below the line, you act as if circumstances are beyond your control'it's not your fault, there's nothing you can do about it. You live in complacency and inaction.

To understand the significance of the line in your life, think about some recent actions and decide whether your response was above the line or below the line. Did you miss a deadline? Were you late for a meeting? Did you take responsibility'or make excuses?

When you own your actions and attitude you can fix mistakes and overcome failures, you have the power to repair damaged relationships, and you experience a surge of potency and a sense of pride.

Affirmations for OWNERSHIP:

* I am accountable for my actions.

* I take responsibility.

* I see what needs to be done, and do it.

"People think responsibility is hard to bear. It's not. I think that

sometimes it is the absence of responsibility that is harder to bear. You have a great feeling of impotence." ?Henry Kissinger