The Daily Grind: It’s important to hold yourself accountable

When your back is against the wall and things are not flowing in your favor, do you stand tall or crumble from the pressure? Before pointing the finger, take a moment to realize what you could’ve done better in that situation.

This is called taking accountability.

Whether in sports or life, everyone will find themselves in a situation where they can either take responsibility for their actions or find someone to blame.

One thing about the daily grind of being a student-athlete is that it never gets easier. I’m sure many of you have experienced your share of adversity throughout the season, where there was a bad call from the ref or a missed play.

A lot of times, it’s hard to think straight when you’re in the moment, so it’s easy to throw the blame on others rather than yourself. We start to say things such as, “I would’ve been able to achieve this if it wasn’t for.. or I would’ve gotten the first down if my offensive line would’ve done their job.”

Being on a team is about being a unit. If one person fails, you all fail together, so pointing the blame will only make things worse. A team that lacks accountability cannot accomplish any goal set in place.

To quote Jay-Z, “Nobody wins when the family feuds,” which means no person or team will succeed by pointing fingers.

Making excuses, blaming others, or whining and complaining are not examples of accountability. In sports, accountability entails taking responsibility for something and ensuring that you are taking care of your job or assignment.

Accountability doesn’t only apply to yourself, it extends to holding your teammates or others accountable. We often watch our teammates cut corners during drills, and we say nothing. Then, when that player makes a mistake that harms the team or results in a loss, only then do we say something.

Hold your teammates accountable at all times, because that’s what creates leaders. If one teammate notices another player standing on their mistakes, your reaction may trickle down to everyone.

One flaw we tend to have as a human race is holding ourselves responsible for any action we may have played a role in. I am far from perfect, and there have been times when I wanted to point at others. But once I’m out of the situation and have set it in for a minute, I think about what I did wrong and what I could’ve done to improve the situation.

We are now crossing over into winter sports, which means basketball season is about to kick off. From my days on the court, you won’t find any other sport that challenges your accountability every second.

To those stepping on the court, be mindful of all the tools I have shared with you up to this point. I wish you all the best of luck for your upcoming basketball or wrestling season, and remember, nothing in this world can stop you from achieving greatness if you stick to the daily grind.