Thursday, December 16, 2010

Partner up for Success

I was talking to a good friend the other day about our fitness goals and she asked me to talk on my blog about the importance of having an accountability partner.  I have since thought about this subject a lot in order to make sure that I cover the subject properly.

I recall the years that I spent in high school and the different friends that I hung out with.  Each friend was a little different but they all were kind and supportive.  But the main difference that I remember is that they all liked different kinds of music.  I found myself jumping around from listening to country to alternative and pop.  Each of my friends influenced me in a different way.  That's why it's important the friends and people that you chose to associate with.  You want people around you that will make you a better person and put you in a good mood.  Its the same with and accountability partner too.

It is important to have a friend or family member (someone that you can trust) as a sounding board as you go through any transformation in your life.  Just knowing that someone is going to ask you about the progress you have made makes you more likely to really change for fear of letting them down.

Some people like to have a gym buddy, someone that they work out with.  There are positives and negatives to this.  The positive is that you might not have gone to the gym if you did not have your buddy.  But the negative is that if your buddy decides to not go the gym for what ever reason you probably would not go alone.  There are many things that can happen and you want to have the strength to stand on your own if you have to because you are changing your whole life and the only person you can guarantee will be there is you.

You must find a partner that you can connect with every week either on the phone in person or on the internet.  The person that you chose should be encouraging and motivating to you.  Try to chose people that want you to succeed and are positive about the changed that you want to make in your life.  If you do this the chances of you finding success are more in your favor.

Make sure to write down your goals... 75% of what we write down happens, doing this sets the brain in motion.  So get out a piece of paper and and write down your goals and post them where you can see them everyday.

Write down a weekly action check list.  This would be all the things that you are going to do to accomplish that goal.  This way you can see how the goal you have set will be met and talk your accountability partner about what you are going to do.

Also you need to declare to the world what you are going to do or change in your life.  Tell your family and friends and if you don't feel comfortable with that tell some strangers online.  You are far more likely to reach your goals if the people around you that you love know your goal too.  For example if your goal is to lose weight and your family knows this they might try to bring more healthy options to the next family get together.

Lastly you need to celebrate how great you are.  If you slip up tell yourself that you will be better tomorrow and then celebrate all the times that you showed great strength and willpower.  You can do anything because you are awesome and deserve all the good that is in the world.  You are much stronger than you think and can do anything that you set your mind to do.

Once you have accomplished your goals pay it forward.  This way it keeps you in check to the people that you are helping and knowing that they look up to you will keep you from going back to your old ways.  We can all help and lift one another and in the end we will all be better for it.


-Debbie Walter

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