Accountability is a great tool for achieving goals. If you are struggling to make a desired change in your life, consider adding some accountability. It can be applied to a wide variety of areas in life, anything from health to finances, professional to social, spiritual to personal development.
Following are some different forms of accountability. You’ll have to decide which one suits you, your goal and your situation.
The Buddy System
A trusted friend can be a great help in making sure you do what you say you’re going to do. It needs to be someone who’s not afraid to call you on the carpet. This option can work really well for things like exercising together, at least if the person is reliable.
Social Media Accountability
I’ve seen some people have good results on personal goals by posting the goals, related activities and results to social media. The kudos from friends can be very encouraging and having to post missed goals can be enough to keep a person on track.
Group Programs
Often provided as a paid service, accountability groups can generate a certain amount of excitement among it’s group members. One flavor of an accountability group is where you pay a fee to participate and win back that fee and perhaps more when you achieve your goal.
Mastermind Group
John and I have gotten a tremendous value from participating in a mastermind group. Style, membership criteria, and whether it costs money varies. Ours is a continuation of a personal development program we went through with Klemmer and Associates. One of the reasons it’s been so helpful is that we’ve gotten to know each other well and we can call each other on our “stuff.”
Coaching
I’ve benefited from working with a variety of coaches on personal development, weight loss and business. A good coach is worth the money because they provide not only accountability but also practical problem solving and support.
There are lots of different ways to make ourselves accountable. I’ve even heard the suggestion of writing a check to the cause you most despise and give it to someone who’ll actually put the check in the mail to the appropriate organization if you don’t achieve your goal. Personally, I prefer a kinder, more loving type of accountability. You’ll just need to see what works for you.
Best wishes to you as you move forward on achieving your own goals! Remember, you’ll likely have more success working with other people than you will if you’re trying to do it all alone.
