Why is it so hard to stay accountable to yourself? And are there tricks to help you?
Developing success habits, getting things done and staying dedicated isn’t always easy. It requires commitment. It requires that you know why you’re working hard on achieving something. And it helps to remember that every single person has to work on it. Even the highly successful.
Successful people like Tony Robbins, Oprah Winfrey and Fortune 100 executives that seem to have a magic touch, have so because they have a team of coaches and mentors keeping them accountable.
Which got me thinking. If highly successful people can’t keep themselves accountable without help, what does that tell us? It tells us we need to follow their lead.
3 Ways to Stay Accountable
ONE. Give up on this crazy idea that you can do it on your own. Get a team.
As noble as that sounds it used to take a village to raise a child. In today’s society we seem to have forgotten that we need others to help us, that we’re not born with all the knowledge we need in order to get to where we want to go. Ask for help! Hire a coach, get a mentor, read books, invest in your personal development and understand it’s a continual process. No one has it all figured out, not even Oprah!
TWO. Say no to things that doesn’t matter and start saying yes to you!
I should go work out. Okay, why aren’t you? Because I’m tired. Why are you tired? Because I went to bed late. Why did you go to bed late? Because I stayed up late and watched TV. Why did you stay up late watching TV? Because I don’t set boundaries and allow myself to get sucked in. Why don’t you set boundaries? I don’t know. So you’re telling me that some show on TV is more important than you?
See where I’m going with this? The root cause isn’t that you’re tired, it’s because you value some show on TV more than you value yourself. When you start looking at things in a different light you can see how you’re cheating yourself by saying yes to things that are holding you back vs. moving you forward.
Stop cheating yourself by using excuses. Figure out the real reason. Also, change your language. Here’s a great article by Jeff Haden on two powerful words that can change your life and help you achieve your goals better.
THREE. Pretend you’re being filmed.
I love this one. I learned it in Todd Henry’s Die Empty book. (affiliate link). Pretend someone is following you around with a video camera all day documenting your life. You only have this day and that is how others will view how you lived your life. You of course create a perfect day and get that recorded. But here’s the thing. Is that how you truly live your life? Or will that recording be dishonest based on how you live your life when nobody’s watching?
Pretend you’re being filmed every day. You are the director of your own movie!
Staying accountable to yourself is hard. No doubt about it, but hopefully these tips will help you on your journey. These are tips I use myself as keeping myself accountable is an ongoing process!
What do you do to help yourself stay accountable? Leave a comment below and let’s start a fun and engaging conversation!
Maggie says
This is perfect…you got straight the heart of a lot of the issues I face in terms of accountability. Thank you for this reminder and for the great tips 🙂
Camilla says
Glad you found the tips valuable! And personally I find it helpful to know not even the uber successful have it all figured out 😉
Megan Richardson says
This was awesome. Especially the part about staying up late to watch TV. Totally guilty. But I never stopped to think how I was choosing TV over myself. Thank you!
Camilla says
Hi Megan! Thank you for taking the time to comment. Yes, it’s pretty interesting to go down that ‘find the root cause’ path to see how we, without thinking about it, may choose something over ourselves. Much of what we do is an automatic habit. Which once we are aware of it, we can choose to change if we want.