Do you hold yourself accountable?

Why is staying accountable to what we say we want, so jolly hard? If it were easy we would all be a dress size or two smaller, super healthy, spending quality time with the kids, leaving the office on time, applying for the job we really want, doing great work for a charity…. or some variation or combination of the above.

Clearly desire is not enough.

Over the past 12 months I have been trying to meditate each day. I know I feel better when I do, my decision-making is clearer and my productivity soars. Just 5 or 10 minutes every day is all I am aiming for… yet I am falling short of creating a daily practice.

I’m clearly struggling to stay accountable to my goal… even a pretty small goal at that. For just a moment this week I found I was beating myself up.

Then I asked myself a better, more empowering question.

“How can I truly succeed at this goal?”

I know one thing for sure… relying on old habits and pure will power is not the answer.

As I pondered this answer, I thought about the women who have attended Career by Design (1 day workshop for mid career women) and wondered why it is that so many of them stay accountable to the commitments they make to themselves about stepping into the next phase of their career.

I think the answer lies in the work we do in setting them up for success. They walk away with so much more than a plan.

We have worked on their mindset, acknowledged the fear that may show up and identified their next steps to create momentum. And most importantly, during the day they connect with other amazing women who want nothing but success for them.

Think about the goals or personal commitments you have struggled to see through. Have you truly given yourself the best opportunity for success?

Here are 4 keys to staying committed and accountable.

1. It starts with why. You have to know your why… why is accomplishing this goal important to you? How will it ultimately improve your life or help you to grow your career?

If you don’t have a compelling enough answer for yourself, then you probably won’t stick to it since it’s not that important to you.

2. Create momentum for change. For many people, taking the first step is the hardest. Creating change can feel scaring or overwhelming or hard.

Start by breaking down your goal into smaller chunks. Identify the very first step. And then take that first step. You don’t need to know every step… just the first one. The next step will reveal itself once you take the first step.

It’s that simple. Let’s not over complicate things!

3. Recognise fear. Fear can be an annoying hand break that stops us in our tracks. It’s that nagging voice in our head that reminds us of all the things that could go wrong. It can be relied on to provide us with the reasons why we are not good enough or why we should wait until we know more or have more experience or our home situation is different.

Very rarely is this fear based dialogue based in fact. Almost always the dialogue going on inside your head is… well quite frankly… it’s bollocks!

You are good enough. You are experienced enough. You do deserve it. You are worthy.

So next time you commit to stepping up or to play a bigger game at work notice the fear, but don’t let it rule your actions.

Ask yourself: if the worst was to happen, could I handle it. And 99 times out of 100 I know that you could!

So let’s agree to take action towards your goals … in spite of the fear. No more waiting for courage. It’s time to be bold. Be brave. Be fearless.

4. Enlist a support team. You may be proud of your independent nature and what you have achieved without much help, but it’s time to change that habit.

Let’s make this easy.

Surround yourself with people who have your back. Seek out people who will lift you higher and support you to stay accountable and succeed.

If the people who you hang out with now are not going to support your mission to create a new habit to enhance your health or lifestyle or champion you to step up and stand out as the exception leader that you are, then it’s time to enlist a new support team.

Reach out to people who have achieved what you want to achieve. You will find people are much more willing to support your growth than you may at first think.

Finally …go public with your goal and ask for help to stay the course. Just saying out loud what it is that you are striving for will raise your chances for success.

Accountability for your goals starts with you.

If you have struggled to stay accountable to some of your goals and personal commitments ask yourself a better question.

“How can I truly succeed at this goal?”

Following old strategies and hoping for a different result … well that’s just crazy. Commit to giving 1 or all 4 of these strategies a go and see how much easier staying accountable to you really can be.

Share below what you commit to and we will help you keep accountable.