Accountability

May 12, 2011 4:16 pm Published by

The very first step in the process towards better health is recognizing what needs to be changed. With my coaching clients I first have them fill out a questionnaire about what exactly it is that they’re interested in working on. Due to the fact that the vast majority of them have the goal of losing weight or incorporating a healthier lifestyle, we end up having two categories – positive attributes and habits to add or build upon and negative habits and attributes that we want to minimize.

What is the key to adopting a habit or new behavior after it has been recognized as a necessity? Step 1 in my mind is accountability. Many people are able to hold themselves accountable and see a goal through on their own, but the vast majority of need a little bit of assistance. I have a personal training client that asked if it was alright that he text me every night before going to sleep. He told me that if left to his own devices he would stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning surfing the internet and watching old movies – BUT – if he knew that someone else was going to know his bedtime he would put himself to sleep at a reasonable hour. Sound crazy? In my mind something is only crazy if it’s being done without yielding the desired results. In my mind, NOT using something as simple as a text message for accountability and having to live your life exhausted because you aren’t getting the benefits of a good night sleep is what’s really crazy!

Here’s my recommendation: Find someone that you both trust to be there for you and hold you to task. This can be anyone from a friend and/or family member to a professional coach and ask them to be your accountability partner. It’s a very easy job, and one that is usually fun for both parties.

You can also use the website www.habitforge.com, a great resource that will allow you to set up a goal for a 21 day minimum and then send you a daily email questionnaire asking if you’ve completed your task. Everyday you have to either click YES and go on to the next day or NO in which the program has you start over at Day 1 again! Talk about incentive! It’s a very powerful tool and one that I recommend highly.

Be well!

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This post was written by alkiwellness