5 Positive Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable
This year I’ve learned a big lesson. When you report to no one, you report to someone, and that someone is reality. When no one makes you get up at 7AM, it’s actually HARDERto get going.
When you have freedom, it provides this crazy opportunity… but it’s not easier.
With great power, comes great responsibility… right? (Spiderman gets me.)
So, as many things have fallen into place for me this year, a number of other things have become challenges.
So, how do I deal with them? What have I found to be the best way to combat little road bumps?
Let’s chat!
ONE : Set Little Goals for Yourself, Not Big Ones.
Making the bed every day is a simple thing. It takes 1 min or less and it helps me set the tone for my day. Hey, I’m feeling good. I’m going to be productive. I’m not running late. I care about gathering myself. It’s such a simple thing, but I really think it’s all about those baby moments in our schedule. A few other examples would be:
+ I’m going to try to abstain from candy. All candy. All moments. BUT if I get the craving, I will allow myself to have ONE and only ONE. And stick to that.
+ I’m going to make sure I get to my workout class on Mondays and Wednesdays. Of course, we should all work out 4-5 times if we are really being serious, but if you start with the little goal, it feels good to accomplish it! I’d rather be proud of my mini win than let down because I didn’t make a huge goal!
+ I’m going to use Acorns to save for my next trip. Money that is out of sight, out of mind!
+ I’m going to get up an hour earlier 2x per week, just to see what happens.
+ I’m going to call someone in my family, just to say hi… once a month!
Anyways, all of these are little goals and they can add up to big, fulfilling moments if you let them.
TWO : Do What’s Best for YOU
Just because you see someone online do it THEIR way and it’s best for THEM, doesn’t mean that has to be YOUR STORY. You have a different life, different job, different community, etc. Life is all about experimenting and although blogs, articles, posts- give us lots of good info, they can also make us feel like we are inferior, like we are doing it WRONG, like we can’t measure up. If something intrigues you.. try it! If you don’t like it, don’t feel like you HAVE TO.
Something I do to stay on track is weigh myself every day. I don’t obsess over it or talk about it much… but it is a VERY, VERY good way to help me stay accountable with myself. It helps me stay on track more than any “Motivation Monday”, snide comment from Mom or Grandma, or self-love talk in the mirror. I like facts and you can’t disagree with the scale. It’s like my own personal tracker that no one else gets to judge. What happens when I stop? Well, I gain 20 lbs JUST LIKE THAT.. and that’s no fun!Some of you may have a negative and painful relationship with the scale, and so it’s not good for you. It’s OKAY for you to find other ways to stay on top of things. Maybe your favorite pair of LEVIS is all you need. For me, I don’t see my weight as a bad, terrible thing. I just see it as a great way to remind myself of how I’ve been treating my body for “the last couple of days or weeks”.
THREE : Be Honest
Something that seems easy, can be hard for a LOT of people. Bottling things up is never fun! Sometimes, the simplest thing you can do to make progress is just say it outloud. Talk about those problems. Tell someone. Ask for help. Write it down. Heck, even if you’re honest with yourself in your journal… you’re still making great progress!
FOUR : Train Yourself to Bounce Back Easily
You know who grudges hold back? Not the person their against. It’s YOU! If you need to hash something out, hash it out. BUT.. don’t take it out on someone months later because it was never dealt with. OH, and what’s even better than that is just forgiving and working through it, so you can move on AND, never look back! In my eyes, resiliency is one of the most important characteristics a person can have. When that person said that slur or did that awful thing… how long does it take you to recover? How long will you hold onto that pain without dealing with it? Resiliency is not always “god-given”… sometimes, it’s really a SKILL that you can work on, perfect, and attain! Just thought it was important enough to mention… because you can hold yourself accountable for this in any conflict!
FIVE: Turn Off Notifications + Turn On Good Ones
Okay, the moment I turned off Instagram notifications was (no joke) a “defining” moment in my last year. (I know that sounds so stupid, but it isn’t to me!). Just being able to “check” this addicting time suck when I PLEASE instead of whenever someone commented a heart emoji… really FREED ME UP! I was able to focus better and I stopped caring so much about the dumb, little things! I soon turned off ALL of my notifications (except for “some” email accounts). I own the phone. The phone does not own me. It is SO amazing what a tiny change can make! So what are the good ones? Well, I like to add reminders for things I’ll probably forget. “Me” telling me. Water your plant (x times per month.. it’s an aloe vera plant so it’s seldom!). Check your facebook messages ( I am so bad at this and that is where tons of photoshoot opportunities come in). I mean, maybe it’s a bible verse or a meditation app or what-have-you. Just be “in charge” of your own accountability.
This year presented completely different challenges than years past.
Last year, I had an easy job. It wasn’t super fulfilling… but it was stable and gave me a schedule.
As a result, I haven’t eaten as well. I wasn’t going to the gym at the same time every day. I haven’t blogged as much, because I just don’t HAVE to sit down at a desk and pass the time. All of these things that were made easy by this dumb job… were suddenly much harder.
At the end of the day, we all have our individual challenges and I would encourage you to find the best way for YOU to make small changes and really STEP it up a notch! (just a notch, not a whole foot).
I’d love to hear what YOU all do to stay on track! I’ll be over here “setting my alarm clock” to wake up an hour earlier!
All photography by @RachelCossette with @RachelCossettePhoto
