Why Stay Accountable?
Accountability is the grown-up way of setting boundaries for ourselves. It is the motivator behind every good decision and the absent ingredient behind every pitfall. Life is meant to be lived in front of others and shared with others, so accountability is just part of being human.
Accountability is necessary in every aspect of our lives––from daily household tasks to relationships, and from work to play. It gives us good boundaries for life so that we can reach our full potential hat follows are five tips for living life more accountable. But how do you go about being accountable?
Be Transparent
In everything you do, transparency has to be your mantra. Anything hidden or anything secret could lead to problems further down the road
Transparency is accountability.
Make sure your actions are in plain sight and feel free to wear your emotions on your sleeve. Be you, be free, be open - be transparent.
I remember a time in my life when I lived (at least) two very different lives. I was one person in the public eye and thought to be a good guy, but my secret life was full of darkness and conceit. Trust me when I warn against this secrecy; a secret life is only a depressing life of constantly seeking approval.
Make a Best Friend
Friends are great, but best friends are sacred.
Best friends are great for accountability. Once you've already begun to live life transparently, best friends know when to stroke your ego and when to kick your butt. Best friends hold you accountable and let you know when you've messed up, but love you enough to encourage you to try again.
Tell People Your Goals
Perhaps nothing helps you live accountably more than telling people your goals.
It is a bit hard for most people to take the humiliation of failure, so when your goals are known, it forces you to put forth the effort to achieve them. When you keep your goals to yourself, it is easy to cruise along without any change. After-all, who would notice? Tell people your goals and you will have to be working towards those goals at all times.
Blog About It
Maybe this is cheating––I mean, I was stuck on just four ideas, but the first rule of blogging is that lists always come in three, five, or ten.
Yes, blogging is just an extension of telling people your goals, but it gets its own section for the sake of obeying blogging rule #1 (notice how I am being transparent with you). Blogging helps you show the world where you are, where you're going, and how you are getting there. Even if no one reads your blog, the simple act of writing helps you live accountably.
The written word is more truth-telling than the spoken word. It is harder to lie in writing than it is verbally, and written words are usually very revealing about yourself.
Software
For all the transparency and accountability in our daily lives, there lives one part of our life that is incredibly difficult to be accountable: the internet.
The internet is where anonymity reigns. Of course, anyone even vaguely familiar with country music would remember Brad Paisley's song about this from a few years ago, but despite the humorous undertones, this song does address the secrecy of the web. So, to make sure we're being held accountable in the most difficult place to be held accountable, it makes sense to use the help of accountability software. There are a lot of good programs that help people live accountably on the web, so you may as well take advantage of them.
Accountability is Freedom
Life is simply more rewarding when we take the time and put forth the effort to live it accountably. To be accountable is to be human but secrecy is where depression, anxiety, and fear live. Be accountable and be free.
