Accountability for Positive Change

Have you ever wanted to make a change in your life? How do you hold yourself accountable, and what is stopping you from reaching your goals? When it comes down to making changes, you might find yourself with zero motivation to get things done. The change could be as small as simply waking up a little earlier to get that morning walk in or as big as finally taking the plunge into a new career – whatever your goal might be, getting started and sticking with it can seem like a daunting task.  

From time to time, we find ourselves getting stuck in a rut in our lives, where it seems like we forgot about accomplishing the things we want to do. The desire to do things differently is still there, but we find ourselves bogged down by those familiar patterns and continue doing the things that we have sworn not to do. 

Meanwhile, time keeps passing by, and we found ourselves stuck on the perpetual guilt trip of shame and failure. After a few failed attempts to break out of this pattern, we often get discouraged, give up, and settle that this is the way life is. We lapse in our promise to practice better health behaviors, we allow office space or rooms within our house to become re-cluttered, and the everyday activities of life keep us so busy that we can’t focus on the larger goal.

Change is hard, and it’s nearly impossible without accountability and support. The fact is, unless you are accountable, you will never really be able to make positive changes in your life. If you are not held responsible for the changes you want to make, you will always come up with an excuse. The changes that you desire won’t happen. 

Being accountable simply means being responsible for the decisions made, actions taken, and assignments completed. A difficult realization for most people is that they need help with accountability, but it can be very beneficial. 

Give it a try and grab an accountability partner — a friend, family member, or your health coach —  this partnership will benefit you in many ways, such as:

• Helping you set realistic goals. 
• Talking about and thinking through what it is you want to be held accountable for.
• Share what you need from your partner so they can help you.
• Challenging you when you need it the most when things get hard. 

Living a life of positive change is all about following through and doing the things that you said you were going to do. When we do those things and accomplish them, the feeling is amazing!  We all need accountability and accountability works if you let it.