Bill Keefe, Founder HighSchoolBlues.com

Attainment of anything worthwhile is about you, not others. It is about what you decide to think about. It is about what actions you take. It is about how you decide to respond to adversity. It is about preventing others from manipulating your thoughts and your actions. Most of all it is about your decision to become self-determining.

Being self-determining does not allow you to blame others for what is wrong in your world. There is no place for it as you are in control of all that is important to your success. What you can control you do. What you cannot control you move beyond.

Truly understanding the importance of personal accountability will require you to open your mind and heart to this truth: Your inner strength will be unavailable to you if you blame others for your troubles

A fundamental secret of success is to turn inward to find answers and solutions to what you need. Blaming others for your troubles is the exact opposite of turning inward and will only lead to the destructive negative feelings such as fear, desire for revenge, and anger. These emotions will consume your thoughts; and lead you to make poor decisions. Until you learn to control these emotions they will constantly weaken you.

Assuming personal accountability is your way of telling the world that you are worthy of more in your life. Blaming others for your troubles (even if you have been wronged) makes it clear that you have more than you can handle.

It is the "even if you have been wronged" part that is difficult for some people to reconcile. Anyone moving towards success will encounter resistance and regardless of the source they must move past it and learn from it what they can. Recognizing that even in the face of adversity their progress depends entirely on their decisions and actions, as they can not control all circumstances or the behaviors of others they must learn to develop control over their responses through their thoughts and actions. The result of this thinking is self-determination.

Remember This: Once you begin to take responsibility for all areas of your life, you will be able to direct the areas of your life that are important to you and not before.