Goal Setting Phase 3: Who's holding you accountable?

 

Hello. If you are just boarding the train, you are welcome to the third part of my personal goal setting series. For those who have been on the train, how are those goals shaping up? I am hopeful that they look less daunting, more real, and achievable as mine does for me. My goals feel more relatable now and if yours are not there yet, be gentle on yourself and maybe try those bite-sized goals. We are all on this journey together as learners.

So, I have set my goals, broken it down into actions, further broken them down into smaller actions I can execute daily but, it is still a long road ahead to achieving these goals. Sometimes that road to success can be challenging. There are so many obstacles to overcome and frankly if it were so easy to achieve those goals there would not be much to celebrate in them. The journey can be long and hard and contrary to some opinions, walking it alone can make it feel worse.

It is for the above reasons that I have phase three: Who do I need to make my accountability partner on this expedition of discovering who I can be? Because no man is an island or an encyclopedia of knowledge (hello Google!) I will need someone to help hold me accountable and assist me in achieving my goals. They can offer assistance in form of suggestions of better ways to go about achieving your goals, or even in terms of reminders like a quick check in to ensure you are still focused.

They can also remind you to breathe, go easy on yourself and enjoy the journey when you become plagued by tunnel vision. Your accountability partner can also provide you with updates on your goals and sometimes they are the ones who reveal to you that you are actually achieving those goals.

As much as we would like to believe otherwise, not everyone in your circle qualifies as your accountability partner. Some of our circle are fine with us as we are, no judgements and while that is great it is not necessarily what we need. Some of them have rose-tinted glasses on and never see any way we can go wrong. This group may not be able to ask us the hard questions we need to hear or just generally be objective about our level of progress.

What I need here, is someone who can encourage and guide me, give me the hard facts but pat me on the shoulder too. I have found over time that people who have been through the journey to get to where I am going and arrived there find it easier to relate to my experiences. They have nuggets of wisdom to share from both experience and hindsight. I have found in the past that this category of people is better equipped to provide me with the kind of support I need for the journey.

 I discovered that they come packaged as mentors and sometimes evolve to become friends and even family (I have had a mentor who started as a boss and became more like an aunt). They can be your friends, colleagues, bosses or even family but you know they are willing and able to make an impact on your life. Do note that it is okay to have different mentors for different aspects and seasons for your life.

Share your vision for yourself with them, tell them who you need them to be for you and why but mostly, appreciate them for walking this journey with you because that is what they are doing.

I now have a direction, tools to work with and someone to hold my hand, is there anything I cannot accomplish? There might be, but if you stick around, I will keep you posted on my journey to becoming the future me. I would love to hear how this worked for you and look forward to reading your comments in the comments section.

Always remember the words of George Elliot: ‘It’s never too late to be who you might have been”.