Let's take a minute and stop and admit...we all need accountability for ANY goals we want to achieve.
Whether it is to lose weight, to not spend so much money, to quit smoking, to read 1 book a month, to not drink so much caffeine, and the list could go on and on. the bottom line is that we NEED accountability...we NEED each other to get what we want out of life.
The really cool thing is, by helping other with their accountability, they can help us with out accountability too, which makes it a win/win situation and everyone gets the accountability that they need!
As a result, this makes for a much happier life...and let's be honest, isn't that what we all want? I know I do!
Why Having an Accountability Partner is Key!
So how is accountability important to specifically achieving fitness goals? For starters, the key is consistency. Without accountability, it's hard to be consistent.
For example, let's say you are super excited and pumped about working out. You set a goal for yourself that you are going to get up and workout either at the gym or in your basement at 5 am every morning during the week. You do it for 2 weeks straight and then your alarm doesn't go off one morning and you really liked sleeping in that one time, so you decide you just don't 'like' getting up and working out early in the morning anymore. So you don't, you stop doing it and you don't achieve the goal you set for yourself. You had NO accountability. You had no one there to hold you accountable for not getting up and getting your workout done; therefore, you didn't HAVE to get up and didn't have anyone to push you towards your goal.
Here's another scenario: you are meeting a friend at the gym every morning for a class or texting and calling each other to make sure you did your workout if you do it at home. If your alarm happened to not go off one morning, guess who is going to be calling you and giving you a hard time because you didn't show up for class? Guess who is going to be texting you or even calling you to make sure you did your workout at home? What are you going to do...lie to them? Then you will have to deal with the guilt all day long knowing that you lied to your partner who is trying to help you achieve your goals.
So your friend, your accountability partner, had to do the workout, or do the class solo. I bet you will make sure that alarm goes off next time you're supposed to workout so that you (and your accountability partner) are well on your way to achieving the goals you set for yourselves! Right?
Now let's apply this to an Accountability/Challenge Group that I so often talk about and invite you to. Not only am I, as your Coach, trying to help you reach your goals, but the fellow challengers (aka accountability partners) are getting out of bed early when they probably don't want to, or working out over their lunch break, or after work and counting on the others in the group to do the same.
They are all in it together, as a team, pushing each other to reach their individual goals and counting on each other to achieve them. We all need accountability partners and depend on each other for multiple things in life whether we like to admit it or not.
The Importance of Self-Accountability.Another factor that comes into play with accountability is lack of SELF-accountability. Even though we all need each other to ultimately achieve our goals, we need to have self-accountability! When it comes to fitness goals, it takes A LOT of hard work, commitment, and dedication to get to where you are going and want to be.
Most people start out with good intentions, but then they quit and come up with a million excuses to justify why they aren't going to do it anymore. It has been found that the #1 reason why people quit is because there are no real consequences for their inaction and for their lack of self-accountability. They have no one to really confess to that they quit, just themselves and so the embarrassment level is pretty much non-existent.
You and your accountability partner, or partners, need to set CLEAR goals for yourselves and reward yourselves accordingly. If you reach your goal, treat yourself to something you've been wanting. I will say though, it probably shouldn't be food related because that will more than likely end up setting you back. Try rewarding yourself with something non-food related....like a massage, a new pair of shoes, or even a new shirt.
However, on the flip side, if you DON'T achieve your goal, or just plain "quit" there needs to be consequence for that as well. Just like at your job, if you have an assignment due by a certain date you are going to do it because if you DON'T you could possibly lose you job. Treat your fitness goals with the same sense of urgency. It may be hard and take time, but it will be well worth your efforts!
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