How to hold yourself accountable and stick with your goals
Achieving any goal is a practice, just like working out, meditating, and eating healthy are all regular practices. Time needs to be dedicated to it. Want to achieve some goals but worried you might fall off the wagon? These six strategies can help you hold yourself accountable:
1. Be in the right mindset
You have to know why accomplishing a particular goal is important to you. And you have to feel ready to start pursuing that goal. How will it improve your life? Why do you want to make this change? If you’re not motivated enough, then you probably won’t achieve it.
2. Make the goal a priority
The most effective way to make your goal a priority and turn it into a habit is to plan. Instead of hoping that your goals will fit into your current schedule, you need to plan your schedule around them. Be sure to block out time each week for your goals.
3. Identify an accountability buddy
Maybe you have a friend, family member, or neighbor who is working toward the same or similar goals. Enlist their help to keep you on track and motivated towards achieving your goals. That could mean going to the gym, cooking, or studying together regularly.
4. Learn more about your goals
Educating yourself more on your goals can help strengthen your rationale for pursuing them. For instance, if you know that meditation is good for improving your overall health, wouldn’t that motivate you to do more of it?
5. Reward your accomplishments
As you’re working hard towards your goals, be sure to reward yourself along the way. If you’ve managed to go to the gym four times a week for the past month, reward yourself with a massage or takeout from your favorite restaurant. You’ll be more likely to stick with your goals if you give yourself rewards as you progress.
6. Create micro-goals
Break your larger goals into smaller ones that are easier to track weekly. If your goal is to save $2,000 in three months, then break that down into saving $166 per week. Creating micro-goals will help keep you accountable in terms of the overall success of the end goal.
You got this
Holding yourself accountable to your goals all comes down to making them priorities. Wanting to achieve your goals isn’t enough — you have to make the conscious effort to carve out time to achieve them. But, you can achieve all your goals by creating a plan of action, breaking larger goals down into smaller ones, researching your goals, and rewarding your progress.
References
- “4 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable to Your Goals,” Huffington Post, July 24, 2016.
- “6 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable and Crush Your Goals This Year,” Entrepreneur, February 2, 2018.
