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“Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to the result.” Bob Proctor
If you struggle to keep promises to yourself but find it is easier to keep commitments to others, you should use that to your advantage. Ask your spouse or a trusted friend to be your accountability partner. An accountability partner is a potent tool for anyone who struggles to keep promises to themselves, which means it is a powerful tool for anyone. None of us are perfect. We are all striving to do better, or we have given up on doing better. If you are struggling, congratulate yourself for not giving up like so many people have. Perhaps your accountability partner is also struggling with forming a good habit or eliminating a bad habit. You can help each other. You can give each other that little-added push to do better.
Once you have identified someone to be your accountability partner, follow this simple three-step process:
- Tell them your goals.
- Tell them what you plan to do each day to achieve your goals.
- Schedule a weekly check-in to review your triumphs and failures.
Ensure your goals are measurable. If you cannot quantify them, you cannot measure your progress toward achieving them. Let your accountability partner know what daily disciplines you are going to install to reach your goal. Put your weekly check-ins on your calendar as a reoccurring weekly meeting. What gets scheduled gets done. This check-in must be a consistent event for it to be effective.
At the designated time, meet with or call your accountability partner. Recap your week. Share your triumphs and struggles. Celebrating your successes and receiving encouragement will create a positive feedback loop that will only make you more motivated to chase after your goals. The journey of self-improvement doesn’t have to be a lonely one. We don’t have to go it alone.
Social rewards are effective. They help us sustain motivation. We should share our journey with people that care about us. Having an accountability partner will provide that little-added push you need to overcome temptations when they arise. Having an accountability partner is a game-changer. Knowing you will have to share any failures with your accountability partner might be that little extra incentive you need. It might be that little extra push that stiffens your resolve. No one likes to disappoint others.
I believe that 80% of the benefit of having a personal trainer or career coach is the added layer of accountability it creates. High performers often have coaches. Many top personal trainers have a personal trainer to help them stay on track and avoid falling into a rut. When we discuss our goals with someone else, develop a plan of action, and then schedule regular check-ins to assess our progress, we do better.
If you are SERIOUS, if you want to produce results, you’ll find someone to be your accountability partner. If you are hesitant to find an accountability partner, then you might want to admit to yourself that that thing you want to accomplish isn’t a priority. It isn’t worth whatever it is you must sacrifice to achieve it. When we are committed to achieving a goal, we shape our environment to make it happen. An accountability partner is one way of engineering your environment to put it on yourself to do better.
Learn more, Why Creating a Sense of Urgency is so Important
