In a brief chat this past weekend a friend shared details of her daughter’s whining about her current circumstances. Being the ever confident and highly competent mom, she did not allow Molly to pull her down into the clutches of a victim spiral. Instead, she pointed out that, while not everything about the situation was of Molly’s making, she had done nothing to try and rectify the problem.

While there are real victims of crimes, even people who have been impacted by some of the most serious of these offenses, such as rape and violence, often choose to rally above their circumstances. Victimhood is a state of mind, not a perpetual state of being.

Radical Accountability, an unwavering responsibility for getting done what really matters, requires us to take responsibility for the events in our lives at work and at home, even when we have not caused them. Leaders who are committed to Radical Accountability don’t tolerate corporate victimhood and, as a result, create a culture where employees are less likely to engage in self-pity, recriminations, and remorse.

Suffering is optional, including the foolishness of a victim mentality.