5 Positive Effects of Accountability on Your Brain

How to hold yourself accountable?

I personally use a simple framework.
I’ve been using it since I was an athlete.
And I still apply it to my current goals.

Here’s the framework:
1.    Set a goal
2.    Make a plan
3.    Build routines around that plan
4.    Track my progress (at least weekly)
5.    Seek feedback (at least weekly)
Let’s see why these 5 points are key to being accountable.

1.    “Set a goal”
When we set clear goals, we know exactly what we wanna achieve.
It helps us stay focused and give us a target to aim for, right?
This way, it gets easier to stay accountable.
Why?
Because we can see our progress toward that goal.

2.    “Make a plan”
Making a plan breaks down our goals into smaller steps.
This gives us a roadmap to follow.
So we know what we need to do next.
And we can’t complain about “I don’t know what to do”.
Why?
Because we know what we need to do next.
Simple as that.
And as we know, accountability and complaining are pretty much opposites.

3.    “Build routines around that plan”.
I’m a big fan of routines!
My life is all about routines and habits.
Routines help build discipline, right?
They help us do certain tasks at certain times.
And this consistency makes it easier to stay accountable.
Why?
Because being accountable becomes a habit itself.

4.    “Track my progress”
Tracking my progress is something I’ve been doing since I was 14.
It’s all about keeping an eye on how far we’ve come, right?

It helps us see:
→    What’s working
→    What needs to be adjusted

And seeing our progress motivates us to keep going.
It helps us stick to our goals.
And, as we know, it’s easier to hold ourselves accountable when we’re aware of our progress.

5.    “Seek feedback”

I try to seek feedback at least weekly.
For me, feedback is one of the best tools for growing fast.
Getting feedback helps us see things from a different perspective.
It gives us ideas for improvement.
And when we get helpful feedback, it keeps us accountable.
Why?
Because if we have a growth mindset, we wanna make those improvements.

This is how we can hold ourselves accountable:
1.    Set a goal
2.    Make a plan
3.    Build routines around that plan
4.    Track our progress
5.    Seek feedback