Mental/Emotional health is a very important, often overlooked, part of physical safety.
Recognizing your own red flags, knowing how to work through them to center yourself, & finding the willpower to follow through is the ultimate SELF defense.
Self Awareness is the ability to recognize, evaluate, and understand our own thoughts and actions. It is one of the core components of Emotional Intelligence and a necessary piece in developing Social Awareness.
Implementing a "Goal Oriented" or "Purpose Driven" mindset is an easy change that can lead to high returns in personal accountability. I found that my outlook on life changed drastically when I unexpectedly sat down one day and made a bucket-list of the items I thought I would have accomplished by the point I was at in life. Here are a few other suggestions for taking a quick personal inventory:
How am I feeling right now, and WHY?
What are my most important Life Goals? WHY?
How do those goals align with my personal values?
What are my strengths/weaknesses? (honestly- ask for input if needed)
What do I need to do to better align myself with my life goals/values?
When/Where do I feel I am at my best? With who?
What are my emotional triggers and how do I recognize when I have been triggered? (then put a plan in place to prevent/mitigate/recover)
Recognize that emotions are neither good or bad, it's an indication to ask ourselves what that feeling is trying to tell us.
Personal Accountability is difficult, nobody wants to be put down, especially not by yourself! In order to be successful, we must be honest though. Sometimes it helps to get an outside perspective, and sometimes we just have to accept that we are all flawed, as hard as we try not to be. There are times I know I'm at my worst and acting out like a rebellious teenager, but also acknowlege that once in a while it's what I need. Recognizing my weaknesses and outburst allows me to at least put a few safety measures and boundaries in place to attempt to keep myself as safe as possible while allowing for imperfect humanity.
What Personal Accountability habits work for you?
Since we tend to err on the side of who we want to be, maybe more so than reality, here are some signs that indicate low Personal Accountability:
Making excuses or blaming others for your actions.
Radical beliefs, dismissive of evidence otherwise.
Difficulty regulating or recognizing emotions.
Apathy towards others. Judgement without understanding.
Overly Impulsive or Passive. Resistant to change.