Self-Accountability

Using an accountability buddy to help you consistently stick with a habit or work on a goal is fine as a temporary measure to get yourself into the flow of action, but it’s also a crutch. Ultimately you want to be accountable to yourself first and foremost, not to a buddy, team, company, organization, app, or external entity. That may sound counter-intuitive, especially if you’re accustomed to external accountability. External factors can increase your sense of accountability because you don’t want to let other people down. You want to do your part to pitch in. That’s understandable. But externals don’t last. At some point you’ll move on from the school, team, company, boss, parents, or situation that provides your accountability. Then what? Find another external group to hold you accountable? Accountable to what? Their goals or yours? Being accountable to others often adds extra busywork too. You may need to do extra paperwork or reports to prove your efforts to someone else. Bosses do performance evaluation. Teachers dole out assignments and tests. Concerned parents check up on you. When you’re accountable to yourself, you can track your own data when you find that beneficial, but you needn’t bother with extra reporting to convince others of your standards. In the long run, I think you’ll find the payoff better if you invest most deeply in self-accountability. You always have yourself, so your inner acc...
Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Lifestyle Productivity Values Source Type: blogs