No human being is immune to adversity, rejection, or setbacks. Every person will experience, at some time or another, strenuous times. So what is it about successful people that gets them through these inevitable low periods of motivation and hope?
Persistence.
Persistence can be defined as continuing firmly or obstinately in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.
(1) Persistence is the secret sauce of all meaningful pursuits. And what if we could drastically improve our ability to be more persistent? What if we could make the journey towards our goals a little less rocky?
We can. We can enlist the help of one another via the mechanism of accountability. Accountability is “the condition of having to answer, explain, or justify one's actions or beliefs to another”
(2) and it acts as a buffer to our unavoidable fluctuations in motivation and willpower.
"The two most powerful weapons are courage and persistence. Nothing can stop a person armed with both." - Scott Sorrell.
Why is accountability so important?
Well for one, it is a tool we can use to assist us in forming new habits. This is often required in the pursuit of new goals. We must learn along the way if we want to succeed. We will also experience situations we have never encountered before. Therefore, we need to adjust our habits of thinking and behaving accordingly.
“Accountability is a powerful factor in habit formation, and a ubiquitous feature in our lives. If we believe that someone’s watching, we behave differently.” — Gretchen Rubin
Not only do we alter our behavior when someone is watching us, we also make different individual decisions.
“Increased accountability will alter decision-making strategies. When expecting evaluation from an audience, people will think more carefully about their decisions than they normally would.“ — Seth Gidder, E.J. Masicampo, Encyclopedia of Social Psychology Vol. 1
At times throughout our journey, we will feel like giving up. That is to be expected. Yet, being accountable to another person helps us stay on track. It helps us remember the “why” of what we are doing and it greatly reduces the likelihood of us just throwing in the towel when times get rough.
By acquiring an accountability partner, we can leverage the power of social influence to our advantage, instead of always feeling like a victim to things such as group think or feeling the pain and fear of social rejection.
"By being persistent, you're demonstrating faith. Persistence is simply another word for faith. If you didn't have faith, you'd never persist." - Earl Nightingale
Call to action: Get an accountability partner!
Don't wait until tomorrow. Do it right now. Email, call, do whatever you have to do to propose an accountability partnership with another person.
You can find a trusted friend or colleague, the most important part here is that the person will hold you accountable and vice versa. You both have to be committed to achieving certain goals in your life and be willing to take on more of a “tough love” role with one another to ensure you both actually do what you both commit to doing over an agreed upon time.
You may want to start with regular, brief weekly check-ins where you share what you accomplished that week and what you are committed to achieving before the next check-in.
Through them, you will have access to not only our fabulous resources, but you will have instant access to a community of over 40,000 beautiful souls who are just as dedicated to change, achievement, and living an inspired life as you are.
You are bound to find someone there who is not only willing to be an accountability partner with you, but that will be a great fit.
PLEASE READ: Psalm 88:1-18
"O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You. Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry! For my soul has had enough troubles, And my life has drawn near to Sheol."
"I am reckoned among those who go down to the pit; I have become like a man without strength, Forsaken among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And they are cut off from Your hand. You have put me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the depths. Your wrath has rested upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah. You have removed my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an object of loathing to them; I am shut up and cannot go out. My eye has wasted away because of affliction; I have called upon You every day, O LORD; I have spread out my hands to You. Will You perform wonders for the dead? Will the departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah. Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon? Will Your wonders be made known in the darkness? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But I, O LORD, have cried out to You for help, And in the morning my prayer comes before You. O LORD, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? I was afflicted and about to die from my youth on; I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome. Your burning anger has passed over me; Your terrors have destroyed me. They have surrounded me like water all day long; They have encompassed me altogether. You have removed lover and friend far from me; My acquaintances are in darkness."
GOD BLESS YOU.
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