There are days when you’re more than motivated and inspired enough to get to doing all that you love to do or need to do. Sometimes the day seems shorter because you’re so so excited to get all the things done. And you wake up the next day just to find that all that excitement and inspiration to work has gone, as if it never really existed.
This is the reality of people who are natural procrastinators, creatives or in the field of creativity, those who get easily affected by external factors of life (problems, issues etc). Sometimes it feels as if there isn’t just any energy left to do what needs to be done.
What you need to know when something like this happens is that this feeling is quite common and happens to the best of us. But, motivation aside, we tend to deliberately ignore the fact that we also need discipline and regulation if we want to achieve our goals not only in time but also effectively.
Discipline often has connotations with something harsh and strict. Something that we deliberately try to avoid in our lives. Discipline as a term appears to have cut ties with emotions and feelings making it seem extremely robotic. The core work of discipline is to make people comply to a certain code of behaviour or follow certain rules failing to do so results in punishments. Most adults who cannot seem to find discipline tend to bear a brunt from their schooling or childhood days, where discipline is in the preamble and not used in a friendly manner.
This is something you may or may not have heard before, having an accountability partner can make a great deal of difference in inviting more discipline in your life and routine. An accountability partner is someone who motivates you, checks up on you from time to time to make sure you get the things you need to do.
As a child your accountability partner would’ve been your parents, older siblings or your guardians. As an adult it can be your friend, partner, spouse or even someone professional like a life coach or counsellor.
As a coach, most part of my job is to be an accountability partner for my clients so they can achieve their goals easily and in their happiest way.
When you choose an accountability partner, keep these things in mind –
1. There should be a connection between the two of you – It’s going to be impossible to work with someone if you can’t connect with them. Since they will need to be honest with you about your progress and help you stay on track you should be comfortable with them.
2. They should be able to understand you – This could seem not important but when you appoint someone as your accountability partner, they have the authority to tell you when you don’t do something or when your focus seems to shift. For this they need to be able to understand you so they can help you better without seeming too harsh or strict.
3. They genuinely should care – Motivating someone is not that easy. They really need to care for you if they want to help you. Their major job would be to keep track of what you’re doing, what you miss (making excuses & failing) and what gets you back on track.
4. There should be an equality – When you appoint someone as your accountability partner make sure you focus on the word ‘partner’. They are here only to help you and not take control of you or your habits. They are your equals and not your parent or teacher. Even when you hire a coach make sure they aren’t behaving or you aren’t behaving as if they’re your teachers or parents. Which is why connection and understanding is so important.
5. Having an accountability partner doesn’t make you weak – If anything it makes the process so much easier and so much more fun. It’s always rewarding to have someone support you and cheer you on each time you’ve fallen or need someone to help you get back up. This does not in any way mean that you’re weak. Offer to be someone else’s (or your accountability partner) accountability partner to understand how this process works in reality and better.
We all need some kind of support in our lives. If a support like this makes our lives so much easier why not give it a shot?
Remember nothing truly happens in isolation and we constantly are supported by people in our lives for anything and everything we do. But a conscious method like this will help you get more awareness and clarity and slowly bring in the discipline your life and routine lacks in a healthy way.
Hope you give this method a try and I hope it helps, if you do try it write to me about your experience, I’d love to know all about it. If you want me to write more on the topic of having an accountability partner or discipline or any other topic of your choice send me an email.