Accountability = Results

Last week I wrote about setting goals for the new year, which is exactly what I'm in the process of doing myself. On January 1, 2011 I made a dream board, and in order to execute most of the items on that board I had to find a way to stay on track. So, I decided to take Chalene Johnson's 30 day challenge; the premise of this challenge is to learn how set priorities and goals and to learn how to execute those goals using a daily to-do list. Sounds easy enough right? Wrong! 

I'm not going to deny that it's not working, I've been more productive in the first nine days of this new year than I have in the last 7 months!

But productivity is not the main goal here, the main goal of this challenge is to make it become a habit. It takes 21 days to form a habit, but Chalene is challenging us to cement it by going to 30 days. Not only do we have to do this every day, but we had to make our goals and commitments to the challenge public so that we have accountability. I already did it on Facebook and on her site, and now I’m going to share it here, with my personal readers.

After my initial brainstorm of listing any and all areas of importance in my life, I had to select my top three priorities. In no particular order they are:

1. My family/marriage

2. Growth of my business

3. Financial security

My next assignment was to write down 10 things that I wanted to do this year, they are as follows:

1.       1. build my gym

2.       2. couch to 5K

3.       3. finish the kitchen

4.       4. go to Aruba

5.       5. pay off my car

6.       6. Pay off credit cards

7.       7. start a 25 client boot camp

8.       8. buy a company car

9.       9. make diamond

10.   10. hire someone to do my laundry

After listing those 10 goals, I then had to decide which one of those goals was my PUSH goal. My push goal for this year is to make diamond, without that push goal none of my other goals are possible. In order for me to make diamond I have some self-development to work on, but thankfully my diamond coach had already reached out to me and enlisted me in a 10 week intensive training program. This program is not easy, I'm already being met with resistance on my first task, through no fault of my own. I’m finding that the set back in successfully completing my first task is creating doubt and insecurity, and I feel I want to quit, but I won’t.

So what does this have to do with me you ask? It has everything to do with you..

If any of you have made New Year's resolutions to get in shape, or start a new fitness routine, or to lose weight, or to quit smoking, or to eat healthier, or to join a gym, or whatever it is you decided to do.. Then you need to pay close attention to the next couple sentences. 88% of all people that create New Year's resolutions to get healthy or to drop a bad habit, fail within the first 6 weeks, and by the eighth week 98% of you will have failed. Do you want to be a statistic? Or do you want to show those nay-sayers in your life I told you so?

Darren Hardy of SUCCESS magazine made me laugh when he spoke about the resolutions of those that want to “join a gym” for the new year. When we hear a friend, colleague, or relative make that affirmation it’s under the premise that they are actually going to go once they sign up. Shockingly, most people won’t go passed the signing of the contract. “They did what their resolution proclaimed!” said Darren, so you have to dig deeper and affirm what your intentions are once you “join the gym”.  

Make yourself accountable by doing what I just did! Not only did I make my goals and such known to you, I sent it to more than 1600 people on Facebook and even thousands more on Twitter! Talk about putting a spotlight on myself!

My challenge to you is to do the same thing I did, and once you are complete I want you to comment below what your priorities are for this year, what your wants are for this year, and the push goal you need to make those goals happen. Then I want you to state how you are going to make that push goal happen! Do it! I double dog dare you!

Yours in Fitness,

Tara