Why Getting One Of These Will Help You Achieve More Success
I have always been someone who is very driven and goal orientated. I strive to get the best out of myself and live a life that is full of amazing experiences. But like everyone, I go through phases where my motivation dips, and this is where having an accountability buddy has kept me moving in the right direction and achieve success.
What is an accountability buddy?
An accountability buddy is someone who you can rely on to hold you to your word, pushes you to achieve your goals, and keeps you accountable when things get challenging. They are the type of person who can give you open and honest feedback and isn’t afraid to challenge you if needed. You might have one person across multiple areas of your life, or you may have different accountability buddies for different areas (e.g. work, fitness, family etc).
For me, the accountability buddies that I’ve had in my life have been there to help me get the best out of myself. Without even realising it, I have always had them, from my parents to my friends, but it hasn’t been until the last few years that I have had to sort them out for other areas of my life and made it more of a formal understanding.
Who can be your accountability buddy?
An accountability buddy can be anyone in your life, but there are a few criteria they should meet. Firstly, they should have your best interests at heart. You need someone who is genuinely wanting you to be the best version of yourself. Secondly, this person cannot be afraid to have difficult conversations with you. They need to hold you to account and be willing to challenge you when you’re straying off track. They also need to be someone who you trust. The more trust you have in each other, the easier it will be to have those challenging conversations.?
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My accountability buddies haven’t always been the obvious person or the person I get along with the best. Sometimes when we are too close with someone, it can be difficult to have those challenging conversations as we don’t want to ruin the relationship. I have tried to find people who I respect and who I know will won't have an issue with holding me to my word.
How many accountability buddies can you have?
Honestly, you can have as many or few as you like –it’s completely up to you. Some people like to have a different person for each area of their lives. For example, they might have a personal trainer who keeps them accountable with their fitness, a co-worker who keeps them accountable at work, and a teammate who keeps them accountable in their sport. Other people prefer to have one person who covers all their areas of life. This is likely to be someone such as a mentor who they meet with on a regular basis.
I prefer to have a few different accountability buddies for different areas of my life. When I was running the business, we had a business mentor who would keep us accountable in growing and developing the business. For fitness, I have found that I am most consistent with my workouts when I am doing a program alongside someone else, so we can push each other and ensure we aren’t skipping workouts or slacking off. In my personal life, Soraya, my partner, is an accountability buddy. She helps guide me through my biggest challenges, as well as the little daily habits that are just as important to helping me live the life I want to.??
The Key
The key when selecting an accountability buddy, is they need to be someone who isn’t only there in the good times or helping you achieve the big things. They need to be the type of person who knows the value in the small, incremental gains, as they are the foundations for greater success in life. They should be the type of person who celebrates the highs with you, but will also be there to pick you up and dust you off during the lows. You might want to formalise the relationship and ask them to actually be an accountability buddy for you. I have found this to get the best results, as it gives the other person some ownership and makes them feel like they now have a stake in your success.