Accountability - does it matter?
The short answer is a resounding, “Yes!”. What is it about checking in with someone that makes reaching your goals so much easier?
Accountability is defined by Merriam-Webster as
the quality or state of being accountable
an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions
Years ago I started running, this was a new sport (for me) introduced by a friend in college. Well, this friend happened to be on the cross country team so you better believe I was all in, ready to impress that I could run consistently just like he did. Only I was a lot slower and I definitely didn’t run the same amount of mileage! However, I kept it up because I knew he would ask me, “Did you go run today?” I hate disappointing others as well as myself, so I ran and ran and ran. After running for most of my four years in college, I was hooked. Post-college, I continued to run for exercise but without being accountable to anyone, it was pretty easy to make excuses to not go. Sometimes I would find a fun race, sign up, and have a goal to work toward but after the race, my motivation waned. At some point, I signed up for a half-marathon with a friend - he trained on a treadmill and I trained outside. We checked in with each other, asking what mileage we were up to, how we felt, etc. Again, I had to be accountable because if I wasn’t, it was going to be a very long 13 miles.
Fast forward to today and I have a friend I walk with 3-4 times a week and a group that I run with 2-3 times a week. It has made all the difference in wanting to exercise. About a year ago I was tired of always running alone and on the days I didn’t want to go, I didn’t have anyone to push me. I was ready to quit running altogether but then I met someone who invited me to join her running group and suddenly, on the days I didn’t want to go, I would check and see if someone (anyone!) was running and if someone signed up, I went. It was easy to go from exercising 2-3 times per week to 6-7 times per week. I feel great, I look forward to visiting with whomever I happen to be with and I am so grateful that I have created a small community to make me accountable.
As a Health Coach, one of the first things I do with my clients is to figure out their long-term goals. Maybe it is increasing exercise from 0 days to 3 days a week or increasing fruit and veggie consumption from 1-2 times a week to 4-5 times a week. Whatever the goals, we figure out the path of how to get there. While figuring out their goals, we talk about how they will keep themselves accountable. Is it with a diary? With an app? With a calendar? A family member? Whatever method is chosen, it has to be something that works for them. Once the goals, the steps, and the accountability are all in place, the client starts putting their practice in motion. Then after a couple of weeks, they check in with me, letting me know what worked and what didn’t work. And what’s interesting, is that my clients hate telling me if they have a week where they don’t meet their goals. I do not mind if they don’t meet their goals - but they do. And in telling me why they didn’t meet their goal, they have to admit out loud what the obstacle was that prevented them from completing their goal. Was there an obstacle at all or did they choose to not take the steps? Or maybe it is a combination of both. Having a coach makes them accountable for their actions whether it was being sick, an uptick at work or just a lack of motivation. If there is no coach (accountability), then one can just brush off the failure and not think too much about why they didn’t meet their goal.
Take this study which focused on couples who were trying to make changes, when one partner changed to a healthier behavior (newly healthy), the other partner was more likely to make a positive health behavior change than if their partner remained unhealthy (i.e. physical activity: men 67% vs 26%, women 66% vs 24%). We all need each other, we all motivate each other. Who in your life can you count on to help encourage you?
Ready to make some changes? How do you get started? Contact me to figure out what changes you are ready to make. We can have an easy (no obligation) conversation to figure out your best path forward.