What is accountability, and is it helpful?
A few years ago, I announced on my blog that I had several goals in mind to achieve within one year. By publishing my intentions, I put myself on the line. That was precisely my point — make myself vulnerable to motivate me.
My goals were a stretch as goals ought to be. Out of the three, I achieved only one. The one I accomplished, I completed the last day of the allotted year!
Would you consider this a failure? I did at first until I took a closer look.
My first goal was for my blog to be read by a wider audience. Didn’t happen.
Goal number two was to advance from a 2.5 level in pickleball to a 3.5. Quite a jump for a woman my age, I’ve heard, but I was ambitious. Covid hit, and all pickleball activities were canceled for the next six or more months. I gave myself a “pass” on this one.
Finally, I returned to creating art after a hiatus of several years. I was determined to complete a collage for each of my sons. Success immediately for my oldest son, Anthony. For my son, Nick, I labored and worked on it endlessly. Nothing developed that I was satisfied with, until voila’! — magic happened. I finally created a collage I was proud of, the last day of my 365 days journey.
“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” — Michaelangelo.
Not succeeding initially felt like a failure. However, the gift was also the person I became in the process and the personal growth experienced by giving myself this challenge.
Looking in the rearview mirror, I realize that posting my aspirations gave me the accountability I was seeking and the additional motivation I needed to persevere.
I recently completed a Life Mastery Program with several women lead by my friend, a life coach. During the six-month term, Jo invited us to design a life that would bring us joy and fulfillment.
We focused on “Mastery” in the following areas: Intention, Health, Abundance, Manifestation, Love, and Transformation. We had a textbook, workbook, and homework every week.
Once again, the simple process of having accountability supplied me with more determination to succeed than had I been working alone. Plus, multiple heads are better than one, and we would brainstorm solutions for one another. We met weekly and reported on our progress. I wanted to move forward with my plan, proving to myself and the others that I could meet my intentions.
“Reaching out to someone else to help you with your goal isn’t weak, nor does it make you ineffective. It makes you smart. Show me a Fortune 500 CEO who isn’t supported with an extraordinary amount of accountability. He or she has to answer to shareholders, staff members, the company’s executive board, and often an executive coach.” — Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Equation.
I was inspired by two friends to hike a new trail weekly. They set out to do this at the beginning of the new year. It sounded like a great idea and a way to break out of my hiking rut. I shared my new aim with my friend Shannon, told her where I planned to hike during the upcoming week, and invited her to join me. We ventured out and enjoyed grand views of the distant mountains and the topography below us. It was an adventure in hiking and integrity.
If Shannon cannot make future hikes, I know she will want to know how I did—accountability in action.
Back in my running days, I had a partner when training for a 12K race. I didn’t consciously think of him as an accountability cohort, but he certainly was. He would not let me off the hook despite a chilly downpour.
Along with the other accountability partners I’ve had, he was a source of encouragement and support.
My current partner is precisely what I need, though I didn’t know it until she approached me.
Meg, now retired, was a creative writing professor at a prestigious university. She knew about my blog and was impressed that I published a post every Thursday for over two years. She decided I could help her overcome her writer’s block and support me in improving my writing skills. Meg has given me excellent advice and guidance. One of the favorites that I acquired is her “commandment”: Verbs are the workhorse of a sentence. This is now on a post-it note in a prominent place on my desk. Clearly, I am still working on this rule!
What a godsend Meg is to me. I am learning a great deal about honing my craft, and I am giving feedback that she appreciates. Being accountable to one another has kept us on track to meet our writing objectives.
It has been proven that having accountability to one or a group increases chances of success by 95%. And motivation is contagious.
Despite considering myself somewhat of a loner, I learned from my accountability partners’ mistakes and successes, and they benefited from mine. I was grounded and on track. Not only is accountability helpful to me it has also become non-negotiable for success. I’m having greater success than when I chose to go it alone.
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