Day 9 of 28 - Accountability

I have zero right now! Awful I know! How does one go about creating accountability. It used to be coming here, and it still is. I would be so far off track if I didn't come back here to check in daily! So, what is it then? What creates the accountability to keep you moving toward a goal, instead of constantly giving up.

Then I thought a bit more about it... I haven't ever given up on my goals. I may have not made them my top priority, but I haven't given up on them.

I just read this blog post about creating accountability for yourself and realized two things... First, I pretty much had all of the things on her list, so I could pinpoint where I was veering off track, and she nailed it with a simple sentence.

I caught myself, and had the realization that I'm acting out the definition of insanity... repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting different results...

Hmmm... she's onto something there! It's cyclical. Make a plan, put it on paper or a calendar, get excited, follow through with said plan for a few days, weeks, even months and then suddenly I'm back here berating myself for having no willpower. Wait one second!!! Looks like I may be slightly insane!

I mentioned that I seemed to have almost everything in her recipe for accountability, right? Well, sort of. I have everything in her recipe... just not always at the same time! Ah Ha! By golly, I think we've nailed it.

So, here are the tools stated in that particular article that are needed for accountability. I'm not just talking about accountability for weight loss, or a healthy lifestyle. I mean accountability in life... whatever you may set out to do.

1. Be in the Right Mindset
2. Make the Habit a Priority
3. Have an Accountability Partner
4. Educate Yourself on Your Goal

There you go! You all have the recipe for success. Feel free to grab a name tag and slap it on!

Not that easy huh?

Well, all recipes need directions, right? In this case, I think the directions are simply to relate these ingredients to yourself and find out how to cook up that accountability with what you have.

I'll start... but I'll warn you, today is not a good day for me to analyze this list. I can already see that my attitude is going to play a major role in my answers about where the ingredients currently stand, but I'll explain that in a moment.

So, first is mindset. Yeah, mine sucks! Like I said... bad attitude. I don't think there's a simple solution to that other than to keep pushing myself and eventually I'll break past the bad and find my happy place again. Like I said yesterday, stress, frustration, issues... they are all a part of life, so they will always BE a part of your life. I just have to find a way to deal. I've got some ideas...

Then make the habit a priority. The Hubby and I had this nailed for a few months this summer. Then we got off track. I believe this is one of the easiest pieces in the recipe.

Have an accountability partner. While it is fantastic to have The Hubby on board with me, it is also detrimental to each of us when the other wavers because we are both weak and will ride that ride of wavering right along with the other person. I'm looking forward to adding Emmy Lou next month because I think she will be a very helpful accountability partner. Plus, she will force us to step up our game as well to set a good example. 

Finally, educate yourself. Well, this is one I have covered! I continue to read and gather info on health, wellness, exercise... basically anything I can get my hands on. So, I have this one covered!

Now... how do I fix the broken ones? Mindset and priority, for me, should help each other. Once I make it a priority I'll be able to work on my mood and mindset. I said I have an idea for this! When I first started the divorce process with my ex back in 2012, I took up running. It was a great way to exercise, I had fun running races with my friends, but more than anything it was my therapy. It helped turn a bad day around. If I went too many days without a run I got cranky and irritable. Now, we all know I can't run right now, but that doesn't mean I can't exercise my stress and irritability away. Now it's about priority and pushing myself to make it happen. I know I'll feel better! 

Perfect example... last night we had karate. I felt so crummy. I was crabby, my head, ears, throat... everything hurt! We forced ourselves to stay and join class. Our sensei kicked our butts. Afterward I felt so much better... emotionally and physically. It was an ah-ha moment for me. I miss it. I miss being physical. I miss being able to walk out the door and start running. So, I'll have to put a little more effort into it. But I miss the post-workout-feel-good-feeling that I get after a solid workout enough to push myself. I have to believe that.

What does this all mean? It means I'm working on making myself accountable to my goals. I may not have ever given up on them, but that doesn't mean I've been putting my all into them. 

One last thing... this isn't about weight loss. I'll probably always fight that demon. This is about my health. I am back to hurting all over, needing daily doses of ibuprofen, and just feeling blah. My goal is to better myself and my health. The number on the scale sometimes gets the best of me, but I'm more frustrated with the stack of brand new clothes in my closet that are uncomfortably tight right now. 

There you have it... you all have a recipe for accountability. Look it over and decide if it's something you can whip together. It's one of those recipes that will have to be fine tuned to fit your tastes, but at least it'll get you started!