The Jerk Has a Point

Accountability is a great thing.  I can make up all kinds of fabulous goals while I am sitting there by myself.  We all can.  Pretty soon we’re floating on a cloud of perfection, basking in the sun of our intentions.  And then some jerk comes and asks us when we’re going to do the work to make it real.  Sigh.

The jerk has a point, though.  We have to put in the work to make our dreams.

 

Accountability comes in many forms.  Those of us who wear Wristy Overlords (that’s a fitness tracker or Apple Watch, y’all) have an accountability tool right there at the end of our arms.

 

If W.O.s are a little too passive-aggressive for our taste, we can get a friend to help us.  Choosing the right friend, however, is key.  First of all, we need to make sure that we’re not going to get mad at our friend for doing what we ask.  It is not cool to fly off the handle at them when they ask us, nicely, if we went for our walk today.  We also need to consider if the friend we’ve chosen will ask us.  We all have some wonderful friends who love us to death, but can’t possibly remember to check in about the workout on any regular basis.  Some of our friends will not be supportive of our goals and so should not be our accountability buddy; they’ll be telling us “supportive” stuff about how we’re just fine the way we are and so on, but not pushing us to do what we’ve decided we need to do.  It is often best to choose a friend who also wants to be held accountable so we can do it for each other.

 

Finally, we can hire somebody.  I am right there, through my clients’ workouts, holding them accountable to their goals.  Sometimes the fact that they pay me is what makes them show up (I hope to keep it fun enough and effective enough that that’s not the ONLY reason, but it is all right if it is.).

 

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