Add Accountability to Your New Year’s Resolutions

Add Accountability to Your New Year’s Resolutions

The common social activity when January 1 rolls around is the feeling of “new hope” or the ability to “start again” with a new resolve. We give certain issues a higher priority, even make the proverbial new year’s resolution or commitment. This a healthy human trait, one that says: “Today s the first day of the rest of my life!” In all matters of life where we succeed there is always a driving force I call FOCUS. That is a topic of an earlier blog I suggest you also read today.

The present word of wisdom I wish to share with our readers / followers is: ACCOUNTABILITY. Websters defines accountability (pananagutan) as “the quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.”

This implies taking responsibility for your actions or inaction, as is often the case, with most new year resolutions. This goes far past the simple admission when you just break something, which shows basic accountability.

Accountability involves at least one other person or many other people. A child is accountable to their parent while a national leader is accountable to the population of their country. Christians know that we are all ultimately accountable to our God, the creator of heaven and Earth. Mostly we hear about accountability at work. Accountability to another is probably where we can have the greater assurance of success.

But I hope to raise the bar… a lot… by turning accountability to one’s self.

Back to the term “focus” for a moment, the reason this behavior works is because one creates a strong sense of personal accountability to themselves. We all have the ability to focus and therefore we all have the ability to be self accountable. Don’t you think?

Whether you elect to obey yourself (going beyond self discipline) or be accountable to a 3rd party, the goal is to avoid the usual well-intended but unfulfilled New Year’s Resolutions. Like many important things in life, an internship may be a good plan for the first year, make yourself accountable to one other person to hold you to your resolutions. Next year, you may have the skills to set your goals, your standards and simply stick to them.

When patients ask me about my New Year’s Resolution they are surprised (or not surprised) by my reply, which is: “I have learned to focus on setting and holding to my personal standards. And that is a year-long commitment.” This is not just a January revisiting of last year’s failures or unfilled resolutions. If you truly see yourself living until 100 years of age or beyond, it takes personal accountability and that is a year-long endeavor.

Happy New Year my friends,
docMIKE

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