Accountability is the Glue that Ties Commitment to Results
Want to accomplish your goals? find a way to hold yourself accountable. preferably to someone else.
Think about professional athletes and other top performers. They are accountable to a coach and don’t want to let others down, especially fellow teammates.
I read an article that said we are capable of 20x more than we think we can do! But to get to 20x, we need accountability.
Of course being accountable to ourselves is ideal, but think about it. If you don’t feel like going to the gym, do you still go if you know no one is expecting you to and no one will complain if you wait and do it tomorrow, the next day, or Monday? Would everyone go to work on time or at all, on perfect sunny days (or cold, rainy days when they would rather snuggle in a cozy warm bed) if they weren’t accountable to someone other than themselves?
Accountability helps people push through procrastination and stop making excuses to cover up their inner critic who would rather hang out in the comfort zone – which is actually not a comfortable place for anyone with ambitions.
Bouncing from fad diet to fad diet my weight continuously yo-yoed and I was never able to maintain any results. I had a mindset where I could hold myself accountable for a very short term, and think this quick fix was all I needed. With all of these messed up ways of thinking dancing around in my head, I finally hit my heaviest weight knocking on 180 pounds’ door. But you see, at this time I was following an effective fitness program very consistently so how could this be? Well, my diet was not consistent. And if I was being consistent with the latest trend in weight loss, I would see the results but have no idea how to maintain it because I didn’t want to give up carbs forever!
Then there was the effect that these diets were having on my energy levels. I wasn’t properly fueling myself and it was taking its toll on me in the gym. Not to mention weighing 30 extra lbs was also taking its toll on my workouts! Moving quickly and pushing and pulling my own bodyweight took more effort than necessary. I was essentially wearing a weight vest through all my workouts and not even realizing the impact it was having on them. I wanted my appearance to reflect the hard work I was putting in at the gym, but the physical results just weren’t happening.
Once I finally sat down and researched all of the science behind it, everything came together. I WANTED to hold myself accountable because I knew I had the results sitting right in front of me. I just needed to put a bit of work in. Anything that you have earned truly feels better than something you didn’t put any effort into anyways. I managed to lose the weight and keep it off! And the work that I was putting into the gym shone through, PLUS my workouts got easier! My gymnastics movements improved drastically, my physical capacity increased and I could move my body so much faster in everything I did. I was worried that I would lose strength, but it turns out when you’re eating properly that is also a myth!
Everyone has their own idea and version of accountability, but if there is anything that might inspire you to start and follow through with your health journey, think of this quote:
“If you don’t take time for your wellness now, you’ll be forced to make time for your illness later.”
-Ash