Making yourself accountable
One of the best ways for me to make sure I actually get something done is to put it on the internet. It could be written in a blog post, an Instagram caption or in my newsletter - it doesn’t matter which one (sometimes it’s all three!), but for me to hold myself accountable I need to publish it somewhere permanent.
This is exactly what I did when I announced my new coaching offering last week. To tell you the truth, I really wanted to hold back on it, for no good reason other than I was feeling nervous. It was kind of the big leap for me, announcing it in public, so putting it ‘out there’ was my way of pushing past procrastination and making sure I stayed on track.
I’d also given myself a deadline. This is another great accountability hack. With a clear deadline in sight I knew exactly what I was working towards, and helpfully so did my audience. It made sure I kept to my promise of offering the free coaching to my newsletter subscribers first (which had a publishing deadline) and gave people a clear timeframe to sign-up if they were interested.
All of these simple steps helped to keep me on track and making progress; which was especially helpful when my mind was elsewhere for most of the time (just like the rest of the world right now).
Without announcing the deadline, and therefore also bringing along other people with me, it would have been far too easy for me to push back my goals to another day, week, month… because when nobody else knows, you’re only letting yourself down right?
It’s the same with other things. In my case, exercise. Have you ever signed up to an exercise class, gone to the first two or three and then started missing classes here and there, not keeping up a regular weekly habit and then ultimately never going again? I know I’m not the only one.
And on the other side of that - how about that time you signed up to a regular yoga class with a friend, who you would meet after work and share a lift home with? How much more likely are you to turn up to that class knowing there are other people counting on you. It’s a familiar story I’m sure.
rational vs emotional brain
The thing is when it comes to making decisions on what you want to achieve in life your rational brain is your cheerleader. It is great at telling you exactly what you need to do, helps you to put plans into place and lets you know all of the good reasons for sticking with it. However, your emotional brain (if it’s being ruled by unhelpful emotions at the time) can actually sabotage any progress you make, hamper your motivation and give you some really good reasons to stay within your comfort zone (and away from your goals).
When I announced last week that I was stepping into the coaching world, my biggest emotion at the time was fear. The emotional part of my brain was coming up with a million different reasons why I shouldn’t go ahead, why now was the worst possible time to continue with this goal and that I probably didn’t cut it anyway.
That’s why it is so important to lean heavily on the rational part of your brain, the part of your brain that has already weighed all of this up and written out an action plan to get you there, no excuses*
*for the record, I had already spent some time considering the impact of the world pandemic amongst all the other fears. It would not have been helpful to continue with anything as if nothing was different. When I was in the right headspace, I weighed it up alongside everything else and decided it was still worth pursuing.
My rational brain knew that I would procrastinate on this bit, so it gave me a deadline. It also knew that if I announced it publicly then that would mean no turning back for me. It was the leap that I needed.
“Many women find their inner critic speaks up most loudly around their most deeply felt dreams for their lives and work, because we feel particularly vulnerable about them. They experience the most panicky, overwhelming self-doubt when they are moving toward what they truly long to do. The inner critic is like a guard at edge of your comfort zone.”
So the next time your emotional brain is standing in the way of progress, think about how you can work with the rational side of your brain to overcome inaction.
Maybe it means getting an accountability buddy, joining a work group, taking a course or getting a coach (wink wink). Or maybe it means setting yourself some non-negotiable tasks, with a deadline, and then following through with them no matter what your inner-critic is screaming in your ear.
Whatever it is that helps you push past your own boundaries, I’m cheering you on - right alongside that rational part of your mind that knows exactly what to do and just how capable you are.
Lois x
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