In this article, I’ll discuss a few different tactics to hold yourself accountable and boost motivation. Accountability is a tricky thing – it can become a source of motivation and quickly turn on the edge of a knife, becoming an equally powerful de-motivator. Additionally, some of the best motivational outlets are grossly underutilized. By leveraging the useful outlets and avoiding the ones that make us feel like crap, we can quickly propel ourselves forward to SuperSelf status. Let’s take a look at some of the most commonly-overlooked or underutilized ways you can hold yourself more accountable today.
Have a Plan – not a Checklist
What’s the difference between a plan and a checklist? A goal. A checklist is arbitrary and can quickly bloat beyond the size of a single page, infecting your mind and overwhelming you with possibly-irrelevant tasks that, at the end of the day, accomplish precisely nothing. A plan, on the other hand, can have check-able actions but are always tied down to a goal. This subtle difference infuses your actions with purpose and gives you a foreseeable endgame. Having the goal staring you in the face as you write out your tasks also helps you weed out the unimportant. Eating healthier, going to the gym regularly, and drinking more water is a checklist and a short path to failure for most people looking to ‘get healthy’ (not a real, specific goal). Eating 30g of protein for breakfast 6 days a week for 4 weeks, on the other hand, has an expiration date I can look forward to on the way to my goal of losing 5 lbs this month.
Another recent example from my life is wedding planning. Planning a wedding involves SEVERAL tasks that can easily become stressful and overwhelming because they distract you from what’s important. Does it really matter if the save-the-date cards are perfect? Nope – It’s a postcard, and nobody will look at it for more than a collective 60 seconds. Pick one, send it, and move on to the food tasting because that’s way more fun and important to you. Whether or not you obsess over those save-the-dates, the post card doesn’t play any role in your goal of a dream wedding full of music and delicious food and a beautiful setting. It may not seem like a huge difference, but a slight disconnect between your goals and your actions can destroy your progress.
Articulate and Vocalize Your Intentions
This is an EXTREMELY powerful tactic that most people overlook. I researched marketing and internet business for a year before telling my fiance, out loud, that I had a desire to start an internet business someday. Once I told her what I wanted to do and WHY I wanted to do it, she was able to support me on the matter. I went from being alone on the matter for over a year to having my #1 supporter backing me up. Finally, I decided to start this blog and one of the best things I did was announce the blog launch to my personal Facebook network – not because it was something they would all want to read (most of them weren’t interested in the niche topic I wrote about), but because it gave people the opportunity to “Like” and comment on my action and progress. I received several comments encouraging me on the launch which was great to see whenever I felt my motivation dipping a bit. Most importantly, I didn’t want to make a liar out of myself; When I set the launch date of November 20th for Superself.org, I publicly gave myself a 20-day deadline to get things off the ground.
If we circle back to the weight loss example for a moment, let’s use two different scenarios to illustrate this important difference. In both scenarios, I’ve decide that I want to lose 10 pounds and get into better cardiovascular shape by running 3 times a week and substituting my usual breakfast (a bagel with cream cheese) for a protein shake. In Scenario A, I use Facebook to post how many miles I’ve run and a photo of each protein shake right before I chug it. In Scenario B, I use Facebook to post how many miles I’ve run and a photo of each protein shake right before I chug it – BUT, before I do any of this I write a brief post to my friends and family: “Hey all – I’ve decided to set a goal of losing 10 lbs over the next month by running 3 times per week and having protein shakes for breakfast instead of a bagel. It will be very difficult to give up my precious bagels and get myself out for each run (especially during the first week), and I would really appreciate your verbal support throughout the month as I post updates on my progress. Losing 10 lbs this month is very important to me and any encouragement you can offer would be very appreciated. Thanks in advance for your support, Dan”. Which Scenario do you think would yield more encouragement from my friends and family? I’m betting on Scenario B. In Scenario A, I probably just look like an asshole who wastes your time with photos of my breakfast.
Share and Document your Progress. Publicly.
This final tactic takes ‘sharing your progress’ to an uncomfortable, albeit extremely effective, degree. It’s not for everyone, but if you try for yourself I’ll be damned if you don’t find it extremely effective. Let’s use three examples:
1. Goal = I want to lose 15lbs for beach season
What to do: Take a ‘before’ picture of yourself in a bathing suit and post it to Facebook, or take a picture of everything you eat each day and post it publicly. If you’ve announced your goal of slimming down, you’ll think twice before publicly eating half of a pizza. Documenting improvements in your physique or diet will be initially terrifying but ultimately liberating and motivational.
2. Goal = I want to play learn to improvise blues/rock guitar solos
What to do: Record yourself trying to do this now, regardless of how bad you sound. Having a laugh at your own expense about how you make your guitar gently weep in a BAD way takes some of the pressure off, and documenting your incremental improvements will bring cheers and purpose to your practicing.
3. Goal = I want to write an epic novel
What to do: Every time you write something, post it. Unless you’re terribly concerned about copyrighting your material (most people are not trying to right a best-seller), write something and put it out there for the world to read or share brief synopsis. “Today I wrote 1,000 words of the novel – Chapter 3, the main character just found out that his adoptive mother was murdered. Shocked by this discovery, he boards a plane to London to confront his adoptive father and investigate further. Wrote through the end of the conversation with the father, who revealed a startling truth about the hero’s childhood.”
This is a terrifying route to take, but you’ll be leveraging negative feelings that you probably already experience to your advantage by turning them into rocket fuel for your motivation. Everyone has body image issues sometimes, and will beat themselves up about it. Telling the world ‘F**k it – this is what I don’t like and I’m changing it now. Watch me.’ can teach you that you’re not alone in your struggle, and that weight is just a unit of weight measurement instead of self-worth, and suddenly your shame is forged into bravery. Putting yourself out there as a musician can take an insecurity about your playing/singing into a hilarious journey of mistakes and improvements that you share with your peers. ‘Accountability’ can become a positive word if you let it.
One note with this approach: Everyone has an opinion on what you should be doing, even if they don’t have any business saying so (myself included). If you go the public route, stick to your original plan and only listen to suggestions from trusted people who provide information/resources that compliment your existing plan. Ignore the rest of the noise.
Questions and Actions
There you have it! Three solid tactics for holding yourself accountable and/or providing a new source of inspiration and motivation on your personal quest. Pick one and give it a shot and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results. If you’re up for it, I’d love to hear how it goes – share in the comments below.
What’s ONE goal that you can work towards with one of these methods? Share it in the comments or on Facebook!
Topics: Accountability
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