EP263 ⏰Accountability: Your Essential Goal Support System
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Sara Mayer: [00:00:00] Hello, Bold Goal Crushers. Welcome to the Bold Goal Crusher podcast, the podcast where we crush our goals and live boldly, and we crush everything that gets in the way. I'm your host, Sara Mayer. And when you're listening to this, today is my birthday. So happy birthday to me. I have a special surprise for you as well.
Sara Mayer: So keep listening because I'm giving away some gifts today. Today, we're going to explore the importance of accountability in achieving your goals. And for many of you, because this is July, you have thought back to January and maybe you've made significant progress on your goals. Congratulations. Great job.
Sara Mayer: And maybe you haven't. And accountability is a way to maintain Not only action, but to build an effective support system. It's a powerful tool that can make the difference between [00:01:00] setting goals and actually achieve them. So let's dive in. First off, let's talk about why we're talking about accountability.
Sara Mayer: It is a critical part of goal achievement. And when we set goals, it's easy to be excited and motivated at the start. However, we all know anything worth pursuing those truly bold goals. As time goes on, we lose momentum. We encounter obstacles, we get stuck, or we simply get distracted by other responsibilities.
Sara Mayer: Let's face it, life gets in the way, and this is where accountability comes in. So accountability provides that structure that helps us move forward and helps us stay committed to our goals. When we share our goals with others, the people that truly want to see us achieve them, And when we know someone is keeping track of our progress, we're more likely to stay focused and motivated.
Sara Mayer: It's like going to the gym. [00:02:00] If you know somebody's waiting there for you, you're more likely to go. So accountability creates the sense of responsibility and encourages us to take consistent action, even when the going gets tough. Now, Richard research has shown that having an accountability partner or being part of a group can significantly increase the likelihood of achieving goals.
Sara Mayer: And the reason is simple. We don't want to let others down and we want. And value their support and encouragement.
Sara Mayer: Now that we understand the importance of accountability, let's discuss how to build and maintain an effective support system. So here are some tips and strategies that'll help you create a strong network of accountability partners. The first one is identify your needs. Start by identifying what kind of support you need.
Sara Mayer: Do you need someone to check in with you regularly? Are you looking for feedback on your progress? Do you need somebody just to know that [00:03:00] they're there? Do you need somebody who understands what you're doing and can provide you with advice? This will really help you get clear on the right type of accountability partner.
Sara Mayer: And it's super important to choose the right people. Select people who are supportive, reliable, and positive. Your accountability partners should be individuals who genuinely care about you and your success and are willing to hold you accountable. This could be a friend. It could be a networking partner.
Sara Mayer: It could be a colleague, a mentor, somebody met in a group on Facebook. It doesn't really matter who they are. It's really that they are supportive, reliable, and positive. They also can call you out on your crap. So set some clear expectations. Once you've identified your accountability partner, set some expectations from the start.
Sara Mayer: So discuss how often you'll check in with each other, what kind of updates you'll provide and how you'll give and receive feedback. [00:04:00] Clear communication is key to maintaining a productive accountability relationship. And this is something that a lot of people overlook. Create a schedule. Consistency truly is critical for accountability, so establish a regular schedule for your check ins.
Sara Mayer: Whether it's weekly, bi weekly, monthly, some people even do daily check in on their phone. But by having that set schedule, it ensures that you stay on track and you don't let too much time pass between updates. It's truly important to be honest and transparent for accountability to be effective. You need to be honest and transparent about your progress, your needs, your goals, and where you're at.
Sara Mayer: Share both your successes and your struggles. This honesty builds trust and helps you receive the support you need. Then it's important to celebrate achievements. Take time to celebrate. I've been talking about this all month. Take time [00:05:00] to celebrate your achievements, no matter how small and acknowledge your progress and milestones with your partners, but also beyond.
Sara Mayer: And then adjust as needed. Be open to adjusting your system for accountability. If something isn't working, discuss it and make an adjustment. Flexibility allows you to be responsive to your needs, but it's also part of the goal process. So let me share a personal story about the impact of accountability on my goal achievement.
Sara Mayer: So a couple of years ago, I set out to launch my digital course and I had an accountability pod and each week we met and we worked on what we were doing for our course. And because we were all going through the same program, it was very unique, but we were able to make sure that we were making progress on the milestones.
Sara Mayer: I made one of my favorite people, made one of my favorite people was one of my accountability partners. That's how we met. So that was like a weird way of saying we [00:06:00] met from being an accountability partner. And now she's one of my favorite people. And we've actually met in real life in Texas when I was there.
Sara Mayer: And. That's what kept me going because I didn't want to disappoint the group. But I think one thing I will say about the group is you want to make sure that the group is moving forward. Some people get stuck and other people's other people keep going. So it's important when choosing your accountability group, you hold each other accountable, but you also keep moving forward.
Sara Mayer: So here's a like practical way you may build and maintain an effective support system. So the first one is use technology. There's so much technology out there. You could use a sauna, which is a project management tool to stay connected. You could use zoom to meet on zoom. You could use a simple text message on your phone.
Sara Mayer: You could just share updates in a private Facebook group that you and that person are the only ones in. [00:07:00] It doesn't matter, but It's really important that it's consistent. And then it's about when you are in these groups being part of the group. So making sure that you're participating, you're not only getting, you're giving and also making sure that you're being honest.
Sara Mayer: It's important to stay positive and encouraging. So focus on providing positive encouragement, celebrate your accountability, six, a partner's success, and offer some constructive feedback when needed a positive and supportive atmosphere means they'll start coming back. It's Uber important to track your progress.
Sara Mayer: So I talked about different ways that you could do that. You could do a journal. I do have a goal. If you're watching me on YouTube. I'm holding it up. I have a Driven to Succeed, a goal oriented journal for high performers. It does have some prompts in here and then it has some free pages where you can pick a prompt and you can write [00:08:00] seven pages about that prompt or one paragraph, it's your choice.
Sara Mayer: But I do encourage you to really track your progress and then write about your journey. And then lastly, just remember to be a good accountability partner. It's a two way street, be reliable, be supportive, offer encouragement, provide feedback, celebrate success, and call them out when needed in a way that they will receive the message without being heard.
Sara Mayer: disappearing from the group. So in conclusion, accountability is a powerful tool that can significantly increase your goal achievement. And by building and maintaining an effective support system, you can create a structure that keeps you motivated, focused, and committed. So you want to identify your needs, choose the right people, set clear expectations, stay consistent, and celebrate your achievements.
Sara Mayer: All while being honest. Now you may be thinking, I don't know who could [00:09:00] be my accountability partner and maybe it's a consultant or a coach. And because today is my birthday and I love giving stuff away for my birthday, I have a nice little coupon code for 25 percent off. The code is birthday 25, where you can.
Sara Mayer: Grab one of my goal setting sessions. I have a one hour, a four call package and a six call package where I can help to provide that structure you're looking for to really help you set and achieve and crush your goals. So if you're looking for a more formalized accountability partner, a little bit different, like a consultant, please consider going to sarahmayer.
Sara Mayer: com and then click work with me and you will be able to use. Birthday 25 on all my consults. And I'd love to have you in my world and to see you crush your goals. So thank you for joining me today on the bold goal crusher podcast. If you found this episode helpful, please share it with [00:10:00] someone who might benefit from it.
Sara Mayer: And don't forget to smash that subscribe button for more episodes on crushing your goals and. Everything that gets in the way. So stay accountable, build a strong support system. And remember you got this it's time to crush your goals and everything that gets in the way, because you do not need to work double time.
Sara Mayer: So let's get to it.
