Did you know that having an accountability partner when you are setting goals and objectives will give you more chance of succeeding in whatever you are planning on achieving?
What About An Accountability Partner
Having an accountability partner is a great idea. A word of caution though. You must be prepared to share your goals and get feedback. Some people thrive on this, while others find it difficult to have someone tell them where they are not fulfilling their end of the deal.
Before you get a partner, ask yourself if having a friend texting you and asking why you did not do the steps you said you would do to reach a goal…is going to upset you.
If you feel this might be an issue, work on that first. You must understand constructive criticism and be able to take it and thrive on what you are being told.
Make a contract with your accountability partner.
Wondering why this important? You have to commit, and nothing makes a person commit more than a contract. Imagine popping out of bed and then thinking to yourself that you need to head over to the coffee shop to meet your partner. You look out the window and there is a light dusting of snow, so you start thinking of excuses not to go. Then your eyes focus on that contract, which might happen to be posted to the mirror you use in the morning. There it is in big black letters. It’s your contract that you signed, and you always honor your commitments, so it’s time to get cleaned up and off you go to meet your accountability partner.
With that said, the idea of emailing an accountability partner at the beginning and the end of the week can be a huge boost in how to set your goals and how to attain your goals.
In your first email, you can talk about and reinforce what goals you are working on during the week, the steps you are taking to reach those goals.At the end of the week, talk about your successes, what went right. Then if there were issues, talk about how you got derailed and what you are going to do to fix it.
Remember your partner will be doing the same with you regarding setting goals and objectives for themselves and it is important to stay level headed but do hold each other accountable.
Both you and your partner will be more motivated to work hard on goals because someone is going to ask you questions. It’s like being in school and knowing the teacher is going to ask exactly what you did in terms of homework. You would be motivated to get things done because you would have a whole classroom with eyes on you.
Accountability Partners Are Like Cheerleaders
When you have success setting goals and objectives, a good partner is going to cheer you on and congratulate you on a job well done. This boost is something all humans look for in their lives. It’s ingrained in our brains from childhood. We all love hearing about a job well done, rather than being told we didn’t measure up.
Having an accountability partner outside of your family circle can be very beneficial. When discussing your goals and where you are headed- frequently the idea of networking will pop up in the conversation. Your group of contacts should be different to your partners. In this regard, if during your goals, you find that you need assistance with learning a new computer skill, your partner may be able to connect you with someone in their group.
Sometimes in setting goals and objectives to reach your goals, you may have tunnel vision and not be able to see outside the box. Having a good accountability partner means you may get feedback that you weren’t expecting. Suddenly you see new angles on how to reach your goals.
Still not convinced an accountability partner is a great idea?
Studies have shown that if you have an accountability partner and you schedule and keep your weekly appointments, your chances of successfully reaching your goals is upwards of 95%.
Have you done your setting goals and objectives before and failed miserably? Don’t despair, it happens.
Just dust yourself off and put the percentages in your favor by getting a great partner. Having an accountability partner is ideal. Now we need to bump it up a notch. We all need support in whatever we do. Emotional support is essential to success. Being a lone wolf and trying to do it all yourself is a recipe for disaster.
Having the support of your family and friends is great but sometimes the items on your goals list may be private. They may be something that you don’t feel comfortable sharing with a friend or even your brother… depending on your relationship with him.
It is a great idea to get support from other areas and people who may be going through some of the things you are, in their weight loss goals or relationship goals as an example.
To help with this, search out blogs and Facebook groups for people who have the same types of goals as you do. Blogs provide a great source of articles you can read, and they share personal examples. Many blogs have free downloadable reports or tip sheets which may give you a boost setting goals and objectives.
You can even reach out and contact the blog owner for help. Most blog owners are excited to hear from readers as it validates all the hard work they put into their blogs. Even if they do not have the answer you seek, chances are they may be able to point you to resources that will assist you.
Facebook groups can be very valuable. However, you do want to be careful what you share in the posts you make as well as the comments. Not everyone in a Facebook group has great social skills and you may get feedback that upsets you. If you do use Facebook groups, do it with caution.
One way you can keep things more private is carefully scan all the comments and posts. If you have a burning question that you really need some help with, look at the people who always have something positive to say.
When you have had a difficulty with weight all your life, chances are that you have suffered from some form of verbal abuse and cruel comments. But you have finally decided, that today is the day. You are going to lose that 150 plus pounds that have been dragging you down forever. You set your goals, your timeframe and all the reasons why you want to lose the first 25 pounds in 90 days. We say 25 pounds as an example because you certainly don’t want to set an unrealistic or unhealthy amount of weight to lose in 90 days.
As you look at your goals, you begin to feel uncertain, maybe even unable to blast off and get it done.
Looking at the comments and posts in a weight group on Facebook, you see someone who has the results you desire, and they are very positive on commenting back.
You can friend this person and strike up a private conversation. It is very likely this person is going to respond in a positive and kind way. They have been where you are now and know the struggles, unlike your friend who although they love you, can’t really understand why it so difficult for you to lose weight. After all, …they have never been overweight, eating right and exercise is so easy. They just don’t understand all the issues you face.
However, your new Facebook friend has been there, and they respond back and start giving you the support you need, to get into action, lose the weight and keep it off.
Don’t delay, get right to it. Setting goals and objectives and getting someone to support you through it will be key in finally achieving the goals and success you have desired for so long.
