(Written Monday February 11th, 2019)

I believe human nature requires accountability. Without it we are prone to excuses and giving up.

I am currently training for a half marathon, but the race is not actually the goal. I need to run regularly to be a good wife, mom, friend, daughter, human. So the race is really a way to trick myself into developing a habit of running 3 times a week. This morning I am accountable to K because we both want to get a run in before work and school drop off. That means he typically goes out first. If I don’t run after him, then he has rushed out in the dark for nothing and could have left 30 minutes later. Knowing this helps me ignore my nagging head cold, put on my running gear and wait for the switch.

Accountability leads to action and results. Most of us do not like disappointing others, so when we proclaim goals we want to report positive results. But at the end of the day the most important person to be accountable to is yourself. When you look in the mirror, have you held up your end of all the deals you made with yourself? Have you done things differently that you promised yourself you would? If the answer is no, what can you change?

We cannot blame others for our lack of action, discipline, and motivation. We have the power to say yes and no to things depending on our goals. So if we don’t do the things we say we want to–we cannot blame others. And maybe we need to ask, “Did we really want to do that?”

I have found the times I make the most excuses and blame others are the times I say “yes” when I want to say “no.” Now that I am more intentional with my “yes” I am happier and doing more things that align with my goals and passions.