Keeping Accountability

Accountability is defined in the Merriam- Webster Dictionary as: an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions. To reach any goal that we set, we all need some form of accountability to achieve it. Each person has a different goal they want to eventually get to. For example, spending less money, less screen time, working out more, eating healthier, and the list goes on. You may believe that in attaining your goal it will look like the left side represented below. However, we all know that in reality, it ends up looking like the picture on the right. Am I correct?

So what is the key to accountability? It is simple, you will need to team up with a person or join a group to hold yourself accountable. By surrounding ourselves with a person or group of people who are striving for the same goal, will set each of person up for success. Why not be in a win/win situation….you help someone and they help you! I have personally found it difficult to be consistent without being held accountable. It has been said that it takes 21 days to create a new habit or eliminate a bad one.

Let’s take a look on this side of the fence, you decide that you want to get up early each morning to get into the gym and workout. You set an alarm and for a while you are getting up every day and heading to gym. You are even proud of yourself for sticking to your goals. Then one day you oversleep and you decide not to go to the gym. This causes you to fall off the wagon and you stop getting up and going to the gym. Eventually you don’t go at all. Having no one to hold you accountable causes you to never reach your fitness goals.

Now on the other side of the fence, you find an accountability person who will meet you at the gym. You set an alarm and now have a person that will be there along with you to workout. And if it happens if you oversleep, you will be getting a phone call from them telling you to get your booty to the gym! So having an accountability partner will be there to push you. And you will be there to push them. What a great feeling it will be to be able to reach your goal and helping someone else do the same.

If you can’t find a person to be there to help you work out in the flesh, get involved in a group that can help you. I have a Facebook group set up one that is linked to my fitness page. If you want to join just click this link, One Body, One Mission- Training with Renee Accountability Group. It is a group that is a safe place with no judgment. You can share your fitness and health goals with everyone. Ask for suggestions or help. Share recipes, workouts, motivation quotes, and success stories. We are there to help each other when we hit that bump in the road or fall off of the wagon and need some encouragement. The key is that we are not there to judge each other. We are all going to have good and bad days. Staying fit and healthy is a lifestyle. It is not always and easy one to stick to.

With all of that said, we can’t forget that you need some form of self-accountability. It all starts with you. You need to take that first step to make the commitment of reaching a specific fitness and/or health goal. A lot of hard work, determination, and dedication is needed to keep on the path you want to be on. You can come up with a great plan and then fall right off. This is when all of those excuses start to slip in to try and justify why you can’t do something. The fact is that you need to remind yourself that you are capable of doing anything! Nine chances out of ten the only person that is standing in the way of you and your goal….is you!

When it comes to setting your goals, make them reasonable. Setting them too high in a short amount of time may not be attainable. Why not treat yourself to something special that you have been wanting when you do reach that goal. Having an incentive may make you want to work harder. Or even get a jar and put one dollar in with every workout you complete. Can you imagine what you can do with all that doe by the end of the year? Hello shopping trip!! I was on Pinterest the other day and found this gem below. Just by putting post its where you see them every day can help you get into a habit of working out each day. Remember it takes 21 days to be consistent with something. This is a great way to keep yourself accountable.