Accountability: What is it and why do I need it?
What or who are you accountable to?
Accountability - the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility.
This is the definition of accountability but what does that actually mean? Accountability is the act of taking responsibility for our actions in a transparent manner. It means owning up to our actions whether they are for the good of ourselves or others or whether they may not be. Many of us are accountable to our spouses, our children, the job we work each day but struggle when it comes to staying accountable to ourselves. If we follow through for ourselves at the expense of others there is a misconception or fear that we are acting out of selfishness. This couldn’t be further from the truth, especially when setting goals and trying to push ourselves to grow.
There are two general types of accountability. Personal accountability and action accountability. Our personal accountability has to do with where we go, who we surround ourselves with and how we generally live our lives. Our action accountability has to do with our follow through. Are we doing what we say we are going to do either for ourselves or for others? If we are going to reach goals and make changes in our lives, we need to focus on the action accountability. We need a plan or a strategy, but a plan is nothing without follow through and action.
September is the perfect time to set new goals, focus and make changes. Even the world around us changes. The leaves turn color and fall off the trees, the air starts to chill and the first frost appears. Our society has made this the perfect time to change our routine by sending the children back to school, making it a perfect time to refocus. Why not make this the season of change for yourself as well? But talking change and setting goals is not all there is to it. We need a way to keep ourselves accountable to those goals. We need personal as well as action accountability.
How do we keep ourselves accountable? Well, there are several paths of accountability when changing your health. Some of the more popular methods include keeping a journal to stay accountable to ourselves, joining a group program or getting a partner to stay accountable to others or even getting a coach. But what it really comes down to is figuring out what makes you stay the course. What makes you stay accountable to commitments? Do you find that you make sure you do what counts for everyone around you but drop the ball when it comes to doing what you need to do for yourself? This might be a reason that you struggle accomplishing goals that you set for your own health and personal growth. Or maybe you find that you are great with sticking to the things that matter personally but drop the ball when it comes to certain tasks that take more motivation. Which ever sounds more like you, it’s time to explore accountability and how to make it work for you.
The bottom line is we need accountability to build trust. This trust is not just with the people around us, our boss, our spouse, our children, but also with ourselves. We also need accountability to help improve our performance. It eliminates the distractions and helps us focus on our goals. Accountability is important for confidence. It improves the confidence others have in us as well as the confidence we have in our selves.
Are you looking to get even healthier? Are you able to make lots of goals but deal with poor follow through? Could you use some support staying accountable? Curious about how nutritional health coaching can help you make healthy changes AND stick with them? Let’s talk! Schedule an initial complimentary consultation with today—or pass this offer on to someone you care about! Visit www.noshoesnutrition.com and sign up for a FREE consultation. I work with people from all over the world individually or in groups so don’t let anything hold you back!
