Accountability Is Not the New Buzzword-of-the-Day
Having all the knowledge in the world is meaningless, if you do nothing with that knowledge.
Someone who takes consistent targeted action will always achieve more than someone who may have more talent, more intelligence, or more resources to do something, but does nothing with it.
In the same way that you can’t buy love or happiness, achieving meaningful goals in life is more dependent on “what you do” than on “what you have”.
The power of the Nike slogan is that it encourages you to “Just Do It” not to “Just Have It”.
Accountability to Whom
Yet taking action is not so simple to do. Especially for personal goals which we are not being held accountable for by anyone but ourselves, it is easy to let other priorities or distractions get in their way.
When it comes to accomplishing personal goals,some people feel that it helps to have an accountability buddy or a coach of some sort to keep them focused and get them through the tough times.
But for me, I see that as putting some responsibility for our success in someone else’s hands. What is more powerful than learning how to be accountable to yourself?
Take This Contest, For Example
According to the announcement for The 4-Hour Chef Giveback Campaign contest, there are two ways to win that contest: “roll the dice, or be master of your own fate.” One path is clearly easier than the other. Yet, neither path comes with guarantees.
There is an element of chance or serendipity or luck involved in any path we take in life. It is often easier to go with the easier route, especially in the name of efficiency and productivity and when considering odds and probabilities. The learning curve is often overlooked.
These days, as I give more careful thought to what I do and why, I realize more and more that there are two goals for most activities — a direct and indirect goal — the activity holder’s goal and the participant’s goal.
Goals: Mine, Theirs, Yours, Ours
While the end-result goal for two participating parties may be the same, the underlying reasons for each may be vastly different in the same way that reasons for taking a particular job or joining the military are not the same for everyone.
Often incentives, or bribes(?), are offered to increase participation levels. Yet, incentives seem to work best when they spark a fire that then has other fuel to sustain it.
Even with athletes, winning is as much a psychological as a physical feat. Having multiple reasons to participate in a contest, even when the odds or likelihood of winning are not in your favor, is the fuel that keeps you going in ways that nothing else can.
It is important to have life strategies that allow you to do what fitness expert, Chris Powell, talks about with his Extreme Weightloss clients: to learn “to fall without failing”, “to confess their mistake, reassess, and recommit.” The power to do that, comes from within, from accountability to yourself.
Accountability is not a buzzword for a passing trend. Personal accountability to ride out our individual learning-curve journeys is and always will be the most important element of any success plan.
Donation Request: I am writing this series as part of the 4-Hour Chef Giveback Campaign contest. Would you consider donating a dollar or two to my DonorsChoose.org Campaign page, found by clicking through this link today, thereby supporting teachers in K-12 classrooms that are working to create a positive learning environment for their students in the best way they know how?
Thank you in advance for considering taking action here! :)
Photo Credit: title=”all you need is love, and accountability” by Inha Leex Hale, on Flickr
