Accountability is often optional. Here in Dubai, on my morning walk I pass a ‘Boot camp’, a group of people who, for some strange reason, have chosen to get up at the crack of dawn to be shouted at and coerced into pushing themselves physically to the limit.
These people have chosen to subject themselves to this discipline and, of course, they can choose to leave at any time. In this and other similar groups, accountability is self-imposed. You may decide to make yourself accountable to other like-minded people for your progressive weight loss or improved fitness levels, but it is entirely voluntary. More seriously, such accountability groups are of great value to alcoholics, drug and gambling addicts in reinforcing their self-discipline in overcoming addiction.
Higher level
A higher level of voluntary accountability is when we choose to enter into a contract which then makes us accountable under law for performance under that contract. You don’t have to get married, but if you choose to do so you are entering a legal covenant of mutual accountability. You don’t have to sign the mortgage contract to buy the house, but once you have done so you are legally accountable to the bank for making the repayments.
