Subscribe RH Love

Good News: You May Need Someone Else

by | Jun 29, 2017 | Opinion

Jeff Denton

Jeff Denton is the pastor at Waterbrook Bible Fellowship, Wylie.

 

Have you ever had one of those days when you get things accomplished for everyone else, but never seem to get the things crossed off your list? You can accomplish what other people want from you. Why is it you’re not meeting your own expectations? What is it that keeps you from accomplishing your goals?

You can meet your work deadline, but can’t get to bed by the time you want each night. You can help the kids with a million projects, but never have the time to read the book that’s been on your nightstand for months. You can bake a cake for a friend’s birthday, but still haven’t been able to start eating healthier. If this sounds familiar to your inner monologue, you may want to seek out some accountability.

Accountability is making yourself responsible to someone or something besides yourself. It’s inviting an outside force in to push you toward your personal goals. The person described above might say they don’t need accountability. He has a list of things he’s accomplished to prove he can get things done. She probably makes the excuse she just doesn’t have enough time to accomplish things for herself.

However, this person needs to recognize the things he or she is getting done is because of accountability in place with others. What gets done are the things others are expecting, have deadlines, consequences, or late fees. What doesn’t get checked off the list are the things for himself. There’s no enforcement from the outside.

Internal accountability is enough for some people. These folks set a goal and get it done. Some people find enough motivation though that agreement with themselves. However, that doesn’t work for the person who keeps missing their personal goals. He needs an external push to get personal things done.

Solomon wrote, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” We might be able to turn around what we believe is a personal failure if we just had someone alongside to help us get up when we’ve fallen.

Accountability can happen by joining a group of like-minded people. It might happen by joining a team sport to exercise more regularly. It’s why people join a dieting group or Alcoholics Anonymous. When students form a study group they’re banding together with others who have the same stated goals. By joining with others, you’re more likely to continue pursuing what you say you want because you know these other people will ask you about it.

You can find accountability outside a group setting by engaging a personal coach for fitness or a life skill. A mentor, someone who has gone through something you’re experiencing now, can help pass on their experience and press you forward.

It’s best to have someone who is asking about your personal goals and deadlines. Having that person looking over your shoulder can provide the inspiration many people are unable to muster on their own. However, it doesn’t always have to happen as blatantly as a direct coaching relationship.

You may be able to produce outside accountability by inviting someone over in a week to see the room you plan to paint. Or by asking a friend to proofread something you’ve been wanting to write and telling them when you’ll get it to them. You can promise your family a weekend trip if you’re able to save better and spend less over the next six months. By inviting others into your goals, you’re giving them an invitation to inquire about your progress. The simple act of voicing your goal to someone else may be enough of a push to get you started. This informal accountability can sometimes be enough to help you with the new habits you’ve been wanting to develop.

For those who can accomplish things for other people and meet external deadlines, it’s not motivation you need. You’re able to find that within the expectations of others. It’s accountability beyond yourself that may be the key to seeing those internal goals accomplished.

For more stories like this subscribe to our print or e-edition.

Subscribe RH Love

0 Comments

Subscribe RH Love

Related News

Put a pencil to it

Put a pencil to it

Columnist John Moore loves pencils. Even pencils that cost $30. Courtesy John Moore They call it, “click bait.” It’s when you come across something online that sounds amazing, so you click on it to learn more. Click bait is something that turns out to be nothing as...

read more
Time for a Change

Time for a Change

Last weekend, I did something I don’t think I’ve ever done before—I forgot to discuss the time change with my husband, the chief clock changer in our house. So when I woke up at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, I approached the day as “business as usual” and went downstairs to let...

read more
House proposes $7.5 billion in new school funding

House proposes $7.5 billion in new school funding

Critics say a House bill proposing $7.5 billion in new funding for public education doesn’t go far enough, The Dallas Morning News reported. House Bill 2 would raise the per-student allotment by $220, to $6,360 a year. It would also invest $750 million in teacher pay...

read more
Voucher bill has backing of House majority

Voucher bill has backing of House majority

A slim majority of Texas House members have indicated they will back House Bill 3, which creates education savings accounts that allow families to use taxpayer money for private school education. The Dallas Morning News reported that 75 Republican legislators have...

read more
House unveils its voucher version

House unveils its voucher version

Texas House members filed a bevy of education bills last week, including a proposed $8 billion investment in public education and a voucher bill that ties the amount of money spent for private schooling to the dollar amount provided to public schools. The Austin...

read more
Door number one

Door number one

Columnist John Moore has some milk bottles to return, but the milkman no longer stops by his home. Courtesy John Moore Social media, for all of its faults, every now and then offers something worthwhile. I’m a member of a group on Facebook called, “Dull Men.” The only...

read more
Voucher bill passes Senate, arrives in House

Voucher bill passes Senate, arrives in House

A bill to implement school vouchers in Texas sailed through the Senate largely on party lines last week and now awaits consideration in the House, the Austin American-Statesman reported. House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, said he believes there are enough votes...

read more
A hare much

A hare much

Columnist John Moore recalls the friends of his youth, including Harvey The Rabbit. Photo: John Moore I never had more than one at a time, but I had stuffed animals.  Don’t all kids have a security blanket when they’re young? At first, I had a monkey who had a...

read more
President and accounted for

President and accounted for

Columnist John Moore rode the Washington, DC, subway to see the presidential inauguration. Pictured left to right are Moore, Rhonda Anderson, and Kristi Antonick. Photo: John Moore Most of us can cite a handful of times when we knew that we were witnessing history....

read more
Order photos