Do your negative thoughts control you? Do you feel unfulfilled in life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Quantum Accountability<\/em>, Kelley and Kevin Kramer explain what quantum accountability is and how it\u2019s linked to your mindset and reality. They also discuss how to practice quantum accountability so you can create a positive mental and physical world that enables you to flourish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more in our overview of Quantum Accountability<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Many people feel stuck and unfulfilled\u2014like victims of uncontrollable circumstances. In Quantum Accountability<\/em><\/a>, Kelley and Kevin Kremer explain that these feelings come from negative mindsets that allow you to avoid accountability. Your mindset\u2014shaped by your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, virtues, and attitudes\u2014influences your perceptions, actions, and ultimately, your circumstances. These elements of your mindset act as unseen (or quantum) forces that shape your life. Therefore, the authors argue that to create the life you want<\/a>, you must take responsibility<\/a> for these invisible forces. Doing so lets you build a positive mindset<\/a>, take meaningful action, foster positive relationships, and pursue your purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kevin and Kelley Kremer are spouses and co-authors. Kelley is an educational psychology writer and speaker who focuses on leadership and self-improvement. Kevin is a dentist, entrepreneur, and speaker who likewise focuses on leadership and personal growth. He\u2019s also the founder of the Kremer Leadership Institute<\/a>, which provides guidance to aspiring doctors and emerging businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors explain that quantum accountability is the practice of being responsible not only for your actions in the physical world, but also the state of your mental world<\/strong>\u2014your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, virtues, and attitudes. These invisible, or quantum<\/em>, aspects are foundational to attaining your ideal life because they shape how you perceive the world and how you function in it\u2014your decisions, how you treat others, and your ability to achieve purpose and fulfillment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors say your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, virtues, and attitudes impact each other and work together to form your mindset.<\/strong> One negative aspect can bring the others down, and the more positive each aspect is, the more positive your mindset will be. They write that your mindset is a continuum: On the negative side are the \u201cvictim,\u201d \u201cscarcity,\u201d and \u201cpessimistic\u201d mindsets; in the neutral zone is the \u201cfixed\u201d mindset; and on the positive side are the \u201coptimistic,\u201d \u201cgrowth,\u201d and \u201cabundance\u201d mindsets. The goal is to have an abundance<\/em> mindset\u2014the most powerful mindset you can have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the authors, when you have an abundance mindset, you\u2019re empowered to achieve a life characterized by abundance\u2014<\/strong>an abundance of money, time, health, and good relationships. You\u2019ll also have found your purpose and, as a result, will feel fulfilled, happy, and spiritually connected. You can achieve an abundance mindset by mastering quantum accountability, which will empower you to determine how you experience and respond to any situation. You can then choose to respond positively and proactively, and by doing so, can control your circumstances, reach your full potential, and live as the ideal version of yourself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In this section, we\u2019ll discuss how your mental attributes\u2014your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, virtues, and attitudes\u2014impact your reality and how you can manage them to achieve an abundance mindset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the authors, your thoughts\u2014both conscious and subconscious\u2014manifest your reality.<\/strong> For example, if you spend time worrying about forgetting answers to a test, it\u2019s more likely that you will<\/em> forget some answers due to the anxiety your thoughts create. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors explain that controlling your thoughts isn\u2019t easy because they often originate subconsciously, and it\u2019s hard to simply demand a thought to go away. Instead, the authors recommend becoming <\/strong>aware<\/em><\/strong> of your thoughts so you can encourage productive ones and discourage harmful ones. <\/strong>To help you become more aware of your thoughts, the Kremers suggest journaling daily: Write about your achievements, obstacles, solutions, plans, and top to-dos, while offloading anxiety by recording your worries, struggles, and potential solutions. Next, replace negative self-talk with contrasting positive affirmations<\/a>. After all, how you talk about yourself impacts how you think and feel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Beliefs are the result of thoughts that are repeated over time until they shape how we perceive the world<\/strong>. We see our beliefs as truths, and as such, they shape our happiness and success in all areas of life. For example, a person who believes \u201cI\u2019m never good enough\u201d will avoid pursuing goals and will settle for less. Conversely, someone believing \u201cI can achieve anything\u201d will persist toward their desires, grow, and often exceed their goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kremers explain that beliefs are hard to change because they mainlyly form in childhood during traumatic or emotionally charged situations. However, you can foster positive beliefs in adulthood<\/strong> by questioning the validity of your current beliefs\u2014letting go of those that are counterproductive and building upon more effective ones. You can correct negative beliefs using positive affirmations, such as \u201cI can achieve anything I set my mind to\u201d instead of \u201cI\u2019m never good enough.\u201d Consistently repeat your new affirmations and behaviors to ensure your beliefs stick. Finally, follow through on new beliefs by using them to guide your actions. For example, to reinforce the belief that you can achieve anything you want, take up new projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors explain that feelings influence our reality through a cyclical process<\/strong>: Our thoughts create physiological responses (emotions) that we interpret as feelings<\/em>\u2014the labels we give to emotional experiences. Feelings in turn shape our thoughts, which influence our reality. For example, suppose you\u2019re at a party, but your friends aren\u2019t there, so you think you won\u2019t fit in (thought). Your heart rate increases and you feel uneasy (emotion). You interpret those sensations as anxiety (feeling), which leads to more anxious thoughts, like \u201cEveryone else knows each other.\u201d You then stand off to one side, don\u2019t engage much, and feel out of place\u2014your thoughts manifest as a reality that a party without your friends is uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors explain that feelings get in our way of reaching an abundance mindset<\/strong> because we often interpret emotions using a handful of feelings we\u2019re familiar with like fear, joy, or sadness\u2014we stick to these feelings because we know what to expect, and that predictability makes us feel safe. However, doing so also limits us, causing us to mislabel our emotions and create unnecessarily negative experiences. For example, your increased heart rate at the thought of your friends not being with you at a party might be from uncertainty, but you assign it to fear because that\u2019s most familiar to you. This negative interpretation then discourages you from mingling, even though it would probably be a positive experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kremers say that to overcome these habits, you must get more in touch with your feelings,<\/strong> which will help you take accountability for them. First, identify your feelings\u2019 triggers and find ways to avoid them or mitigate their impact. For example, mitigate anxiety from new social situations by using methods like positive self-talk: \u201cI\u2019m going to enjoy myself and make new friends.\u201d Also, you should pause to identify the emotion you\u2019re experiencing before assigning a label to it. In the case of the party, reflect on what could be causing your increased heart rate before immediately attributing it to fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors explain that virtues are values that tell us what, when, and how to do things based on our morals and expectations for ourselves.<\/strong> For example, a virtue might be honesty\u2014you\u2019ll tailor your actions and decisions to ensure you act with honor and integrity. Remaining accountable to your virtues is crucial to an abundance mindset as it fosters peace and fulfillment. Conversely, acting against your virtues brings feelings of dissatisfaction and chaos. Because feelings impact your thoughts and perceptions, staying aligned with your virtues helps you embody the peace that leads to abundance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To hold yourself accountable to your virtues, the authors say you must first identify your five main virtues.<\/strong> Constantly reflect on and potentially re-evaluate your virtues throughout your life. Hold yourself accountable to these virtues by creating boundaries to ensure your actions and decisions align with your virtues. The authors recommend forming boundaries for six major areas of your life: physical well-being, emotions, mentality, relationships, spirituality, and finances. For example, emotional boundaries may include avoiding certain types of media that provoke negative feelings, while relationship boundaries may include cutting off those who don\u2019t respect you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kremers explain that attitudes are composed of thoughts and emotions that shape how you interact with and respond to your environment.<\/strong> While a positive attitude results in positive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that foster abundance, negative attitudes like comparison or bias result in behaviors like gossiping, denying accountability, and being disrespectful\u2014acts that take you further from abundance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To foster a positive attitude, the authors emphasize embracing gratitude<\/strong>, or appreciating what you have. Gratitude makes people happier, more optimistic, and more resilient, and it increases feelings of self-esteem and love. It also makes people healthier and reduces anxiety and depression. To practice gratitude<\/a>, use deliberate focus\u2014concentrate on gratitude to increase its presence in your mind. The authors recommend keeping a physical object on you that will remind you to practice gratitude every time you see or touch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the authors, once you\u2019ve taken accountability for your mental world\u2014your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, virtues, and attitudes\u2014you can take meaningful action in the physical world. In this section, we\u2019ll discuss how you can take accountability for six areas of action: your decisions, roles, time management, focus, finances, and energy management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors explain that your attitudes and feelings largely impact how you make decisions, so making effective decisions requires you to take full accountability of these mental attributes. Conversely, if you\u2019re not accountable and thus allow negative thoughts and feelings, you\u2019ll make bad decisions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors offer a few guidelines to ensure your decisions are based on productive attitudes and feelings. First, determine whether you should make a decision<\/a> alone, with the help of your support system, or with the help of experts\u2014don\u2019t over-estimate your abilities, expertise, or the weight of the decision. Second, spend the right amount of time making the decision. Usually, it\u2019s better to act swiftly rather than to dwell on an issue; however, some issues will require you to research and reflect rather than acting on your instincts (or feelings).<\/p>\n\n\n\n People play numerous roles in their personal, professional, and social lives\u2014parent, spouse, friend, business owner, and so on. The authors explain that these roles can bring great fulfillment when you\u2019re mentally accountable and actively choose them<\/strong>. On the other hand, if you lack mental accountability, external pressures often push you into undesired roles that leave you feeling unhappy and stuck. These feelings then make you want to escape responsibility for those roles, leading to destructive behaviors<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, the authors explain that you must actively choose, manage, and draw boundaries between your roles<\/strong>\u2014ensure you\u2019re prioritizing the right things and spending your time and energy where it\u2019s most beneficial. For example, if you get offered a promotion but feel more fulfilled in your current position, tell your boss you want to stay. You should also create boundaries between your roles to give each one proper attention\u2014don\u2019t let your professional role take time away from your parental role; when the work day concludes, put your laptop away. Finally, communicate your boundaries<\/a> with the people around you so they understand your priorities and obligations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, the authors explain that how you spend your time should be guided by what you believe is most important, and that you should perceive time in a healthy way\u2014percieving time as infinite leads to procrastination and prevents you from reaching your potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To manage your time, the authors recommend planning out how you\u2019ll spend it<\/strong>. First, designate time for the most important things\u2014like relationships, health, and life goals. Once you\u2019ve allotted time for these things, you can then allot time to secondary priorities like your career and hobbies. With your remaining time, you can accomplish lesser tasks and chores. Be sure to include breaks to prevent overload. Dividing your time in advance will not only help you be more productive<\/a>, but will reduce the stress of deciding what to do in the moment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors explain that there\u2019s a cyclical relationship between attention and mindset\u2014the strength of one impacts the strength of the other. <\/strong>When you\u2019re accountable for your mental state, you can better control your attention. When you better control your attention, you better control what enters your mind, which shapes your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, virtues, and attitudes. Thus, better attention control can lead to a more positive mindset, which in turn gives you better attention control. For example, by blocking out unreliable media sources that spread misinformation and drama, you can protect your mental qualities, which will in turn let you pay attention to other, more positive, things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the authors, controlling your attention is also important because it allows you to reach <\/strong>flow<\/em><\/strong>\u2014a state of intense focus and productivity which is the key to achieving your potential. To reach flow, clear a time and space for your work, limit distractions, determine what exactly you\u2019ll work on and which benchmarks you want to meet, then focus strictly on the task at hand. Don\u2019t multitask, let your mind wander, or get distracted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, the authors explain that your mindset and beliefs largely shape your perception of and access to wealth<\/strong>\u2014limiting beliefs and a lack of personal accountability often create barriers to financial success. To overcome self-imposed barriers, review your beliefs and the other elements of your mindset to ensure they\u2019re enabling rather than restricting you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, consider your beliefs about money\u2014rather than seeing wealth as positive or negative, see money as a neutral tool that can help you achieve certain ends.<\/strong> Remember that as you have control over your mental world, you can control your physical world by taking accountability for your actions and circumstances. You\u2019re not at the mercy of the world or other people; rather, you have the power to achieve what you want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, the authors explain that taking accountability for your energy is crucial because energy management dictates your success<\/strong>. Many believe that the more time you have, the more success you can gain; however, this thinking is flawed because time can\u2019t be created. The solution is to use time wisely <\/em>by using your energy more effectively\u2014conserving it when possible and spending it on things that will give you the biggest returns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors provide tips to help you manage your energy. First, determine your most productive hours of the day and work within them\u2014for example, early in the morning or after lunch. Second, conserve energy by prioritizing tasks<\/a>, simplifying them, delegating when possible, and setting boundaries to prevent burnout. Finally, make sure that the people you spend time with fuel rather than diminish your energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kremers explain that reaching your full potential<\/a> requires more than just focusing on yourself. You must also look outward and hold yourself accountable for how you treat, feel about, and communicate with others, as well as how others perceive you. When you fail to do so, you\u2019re likely to damage relationships, cause misunderstandings, and create negative emotions for yourself, impacting your personal and professional success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors explain that to hold yourself accountable for your relationships, you must develop emotional intelligence<\/a> (EI)<\/strong>\u2014 including self-awareness, self-management, motivation, empathy and compassion, and social skills. EI enables you to make effective personal and professional decisions, communicate effectively with others, and build and maintain relationships. We\u2019ll discuss each of the five components of EI in the following sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Developing self-awareness entails understanding your emotions<\/a> and feelings and how they cause you to act. The Kremers write that learning self-awareness is the first step toward changing your feelings and behaviors for the better.<\/strong> It\u2019s also one of the hallmarks of healthy relationships<\/a> because it allows you to acknowledge your actions and their consequences so you can hold yourself accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To foster self-awareness and improve relationships, the authors recommend understanding your <\/strong>triggers<\/em><\/strong>\u2014the things that make you feel and act in certain ways. This way, you can take responsibility for your feelings and responses rather than blaming them on someone else\u2019s actions. For example, acknowledge that your partner going out with friends (trigger) might make you anxious (emotion) but doesn\u2019t give you the right to direct anger toward them (feeling and reaction) because they\u2019ve done nothing wrong. Further, make sure you\u2019re correctly labeling<\/a> your emotions, as we discussed in Part 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another reason self-awareness is important is that it\u2019s the foundation of forgiveness.<\/strong> The Kremers write that forgiveness requires us to look inside ourselves to identify and release negative emotional patterns we feel toward ourselves and others. Forgiveness is necessary for both a healthy mindset and positive relationships: It helps us move toward abundance by allowing us to release negative feelings that bring us down, and it fosters positive relationships by allowing us to move past toxic feelings and reestablish trust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Managing your reactions is crucial for maintaining and improving your relationships. <\/strong>Self-management builds on self-awareness\u2014once you\u2019re aware of yourself and your impact, you can work to change how you feel, behave, and communicate with others. The authors explain that one of the first steps to managing your reactions is pausing before you respond\u2014take a moment to understand your thoughts and feelings so you can express yourself in a respectful way rather than acting on impulse. You can also adopt techniques to soothe and regulate your emotions like practicing mindfulness<\/a> or going to therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kremers explain that motivation enables you to work steadily toward long-term goals and resist instant gratification.<\/strong> It\u2019s also what allows you to be an inspiring leader\u2014when you\u2019re committed to a goal, you lead by example<\/a>, inspiring your employees to rally around a shared vision and do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The authors explain that empathy and compassion are crucial for building and managing relationships. <\/strong>Empathy is understanding the emotional experiences of others, and compassion is using that understanding to extend kindness and support. In personal relationships, these help you foster stronger connections by showing others you care about them. In professional relationships, empathy and compassion help leaders understand their employees, resolve conflicts, and understand what will motivate and inspire workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, the authors explain that social skills are one of the most important components of EI because they dictate how we communicate with others<\/strong>\u2014how we express ourselves, how we\u2019re perceived, how we handle conflicts, and how we connect with others<\/a>. Failing to effectively communicate can cause misunderstandings and mistakes that can damage relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To practice effective social skills and communication, the authors say that you must first practice <\/strong>active listening<\/em><\/strong>\u2014give the other person your undivided attention and ask clarifying questions to make sure you understand properly. Also, think about how you\u2019re going to express yourself before you speak: Be concise, choose the appropriate medium (some conversations should be in person rather than text), and use your knowledge about the other person to try and communicate in a way they\u2019ll receive well.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOverview of Quantum Accountability<\/em> by Kelley and Kevin Kremer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Part 1: What Is Quantum Accountability?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Part 2: Take Accountability for Your Mental Attributes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Manage Your Thoughts<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Manage Your Beliefs<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Manage Your Feelings<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Manage Your Virtues<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Manage Your Attitudes<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Part 3: Take Accountability for Your Actions and Decisions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Take Accountability for Your Decisions<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Take Accountability for Your Roles<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Take Accountability for Your Time<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Take Accountability for Your Attention <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Take Accountability for Your Finances<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Take Accountability for Your Energy<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Part 4: Be Accountable in Your Relationships<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Self-Awareness<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Forgiveness<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Self-Management<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Motivation<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Empathy and Compassion<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Social Skills<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Part 5: Uncover Your Purpose and Reach Your Potential<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n