Have you ever come across any of these questions: “How do you hold yourself accountable?”, “How do you honor your plan?”, “How will you take responsibility?” If you have ever worked with a coach, I am sure you have 😉. These questions are crucial and are asked almost in every coaching session. After setting a goal, addressing any blocks, and crafting a solid action plan, we also want to know: What will you do if you encounter any obstacles on your way to taking action?
As a coach (and a client), I feel like we often dedicate minimal time to this question and answer because isn’t it so much more fun and pleasurable to spend 15 minutes talking about our desired future or venting about past events? Well, hell yeah, but we all know that by talking or thinking, nothing will change, and even though your coaching session may be a big success, at the end of the day (don’t kill the messenger), it is YOUR responsibility to make things happen.
So, how are you planning to get out of your comfort zone when it’s time to do something you don’t feel like doing? How will you honor your action plan?
If you struggle to answer these questions, know you are not alone. If it were that easy, everybody would always reach their goals effortlessly, but we know that most people give up before reaching their desired outcome. Here is what has worked for me so far:
- Don’t keep the promise in your head.
- Verbalize it (e.g., save it to your voice notes), write it down or make a collage – it not only gets you more clarity and motivation, but this way, it becomes more real, more tangible if you will. Your brain gets activated. -> Look or listen to whatever you wrote, drew, or recorded daily.
- Block the time in your calendar.
- Come up with an excuses list in advance. Decide on the valid reasons to allow you to skip whatever you had planned. E.g., if I have a stomachache, it is OK to skip the gym. However, a job task I could also finish tomorrow morning is not an excuse to skip the gym.
- Set some consequences for yourself.
- If I am not working out 3 times next week, I will donate 50 Euros to an animal shelter monthly. Or, I am not going to eat those Sunday pancakes.
- Similarly, you can reward yourself. If I do 3 workouts next week, I am allowing myself to try out that expensive Pilates reformer class.
- Important! It is totally OK to skip a workout occasionally; however, not more than once -> the key here is to find the way back to your routine as fast as possible.
- Try a checklist or an app.
- Get an accountability partner or a coach (also, working in the group helps a ton!). E.g., you can send a text or email every evening (or every week) to let your partner know how it is going. If not possible, journaling is another good option to reflect and to understand where your weak spots are and what your strengths are. Remember, the more we know ourselves, the easier it gets to reach our goals.
- Make your goal public to add some peer pressure (this is how I started this blog ☺️).
- And the oldest trick in the book: never miss a day at least taking a micro-step toward your goal. Everyone can pull through a 5-minute walk, reading one page, eating one less cookie, or saying 3 kind words to whoever is close to you.
Remember, you strengthen your self-trust whenever you stick to your plans and fulfill your commitments. Conversely, your self-trust diminishes if you consistently break your promises to yourself. This process works like a snowball.
Now I am curious. How do you tend to hold yourself accountable?
Light & love,
Liis 🤍