Most people like being held accountable, when they do what they say they are going to do
Most people like being held accountable because you do better, complete more, and show up more fully when you have it. And that is a wonderful feeling. To reach the finish line, to feel the satisfaction at a job well done. Especially if it wasn’t easy and you had to work really hard to get there. And as a bonus, that builds your confidence making the next goal, project or commitment easier.
Most people don’t like being held accountable, when they don’t do what they say they are going to do
The flip side is when you don’t quite make it to the finish line. When you come up short and you don’t want to look at it or acknowledge it at all. Then you really dread being held accountable because you know you are going to face discomfort. Fortunately even though though it doesn’t feel good, it’s still very valuable. Especially with the outside input that having someone else holding you accountable. This gets you out of the cycle of rumination and self-criticism and sets you up to move forward, faster. Without accountability, you lose valuable time in overwhelm, procrastination and regret.
A mindfulness based approach to accountability
Our approach to accountability is based in mindfulness. When you complete the things you set out to do in any given week, quarter or year – it feels amazing but it also an opportunity to learn. Did you feel stretched in a good way or did you overdo it? Did completing those things, create the results you wanted? If not, do you want to take another approach? Learning and growth are the result.
However, when you don’t do the things you set out to do, there are different set of questions. Why did you make this commitment and not keep it? There are so many answers to that question it could take up an encyclopedia of excuses and valid reasons. But you need to understand what got in your way and why.
We have found that the conversation that you have inside of your own head versus the one you have with the person holding you accountable (for our purposes an accountability coach) are quite different. They move from self-criticism to learning and growth. Again, this is where the mindfulness comes in. And again there is much learning and growth to be done here.
Accountability provides a clean slate to begin again
Accountability coaching also creates a unique opportunity for closure. It allows you to close the loop on the thing you didn’t complete by making one of three choices.
- Do I want to recommit?
- Do I want to let it go?
- Do I want to save it for later?
Being held accountable in this way gives you an opportunity to be honest about what you want to do, wipe the slate clean and start again. No more rumination required. You are moving on, creating a new loop and new opportunity for completion, learning and growth.
