“The Athena Principles” Accountability – Principle 5 (Seventh in a Series)
The last of five Principles outlined in The Athena Principles, Simple Wellness Practices for Overworked Professionals is Accountability. Okay, I admit it, this isn’t the sexiest of the Principles. But I define accountability as a systematic way to check in with what you commit to accomplish, celebrate the wins, and compassionately adjust where needed. It’s also a powerful determinant of whether or not your wellness intentions will be realized.
Accountability sounds like a heavy, burdensome word, but it simply means a willingness to take responsibility for your actions and related consequences. Being accountable to yourself is about follow-through, acknowledging when things don’t go as planned, and finding solutions to get back on track.
The core tenets of the Principle of Accountability are checking in on your progress, celebrating winsand adjusting where needed. Let’s take a look at each one:
Checking In
There are numerous ways to structure your check-in process. At a minimum, you’ll need to determine how and when to check-in with yourself. Here are some things to keep in mind as you structure your process:
Determine where you’ll record your daily progress, such as a notebook or planner, including what you do each day and how you feel.
Schedule a time in your calendar to perform the review each week.
During your weekly review, look for patterns involved in what went well and what didn’t. For example, you may find yourself numbing out with late night television, which makes it hard to get up for an early morning workout. Do you feel areas of resistance? Is there anything you can start or stop doing that will move you closer to realizing your intention?
Note how satisfied you are with your progress, the specific wellness results you achieved, and your level of overall improvement, remembering to give yourself credit for things that go well and practicing non-judgment when things don’t go as planned.
Celebrating Wins
Celebrating wellness milestones releases endorphins and reinforces the building of healthy habits. When you celebrate, small victories become associated with good feelings and the body craves more of those feel-good chemicals, which strengthens the habit. In addition, self-efficacy, or the belief that you can accomplish what you set out to do, increases.
Both large and small milestones can be rewarded. The way you choose to reward yourself is up to you. It can be anything that makes you happy, including pursuing a favorite activity, attending a special event, giving yourself a physical reward or gift, and/or spending time on a favorite activity.
Making Adjustments
There may be times when, despite your best efforts, you’re not seeing the results you initially envisioned. Here are some things to consider as you determine next steps:
How was your effort level? Did you give it your all or can you increase the intensity?
Were there changes in your situation that impacted your plans? What can be done to realign your schedule and support system?
Were your expectations too high? Did you try to take too large a step (completely cut sugar out of your diet)? Is it possible to break your task down into smaller actions (replace soda with sparking water to start)? If so, what will be done and by when?
If you’re feeling good, is it possible to continue the effort while being less concerned with the end result?
Are you still interested in achieving this wellness milestone? It’s okay to redirect your energy if you’re not all in, as long as it doesn’t become a recurring practice.
Accountability Tools, Partners, and Community
Since willpower is a finite resource and stressors can further deplete your intent to stay on track, other techniques can be helpful to keep you accountable, including:
Utilizing tools – one or a combination of devices to keep you on track, ranging from analog to digital to help with consistent focus and influence positive results
Finding an accountability partner – working with people who can hold you to your commitments and provide feedback and support, such as someone in your network or a trainer or coach.
Joining a community of interest – these are in-person or virtual groups that share a common interest and gather to exchange thoughts and ideas on a topic.
Being accountable to yourself for what you really want is an empowering way to live. Your personal power will get a boost every time you own a success or a mistake, when you pause to celebrate a milestone, or when you adjust your plan and move forward on the path you’re carving out for yourself. By doing so, your self-trust increases as does your ability to model the positive behavior for others.
You are the result of all the daily decisions you make. Put another way, every day you are actively creating the person you will become. Are you living your truth? Are you giving yourself what you need right now? Are you mindfully choosing what to do and what not to do?
Your future lies in the choices you make and actions you take today.
Note: I will continue sharing the book’s key concepts with you through blogs posted on the 1st and 15th of the month through October. You can sign up for blog post alerts below and get a free download of The Athena Principlesframework and action plan at: https://athenawellness.com/actionplan
Book Announcement: The paperback, eBook and audiobook versions of The Athena Principles, Simple Wellness Practices for Overworked Professionals are available on Amazon. Feedback shared via Amazon reviews is much appreciated!