do you and your friends support one another in reaching deadlines or crossing finish lines, whether real or metaphorical? do you encourage each other to make lifestyle changes, to complete tasks, or to do things you otherwise might not?

i love having accountability partners for different things in my life. i am someone who often will start something and then get distracted and never finish. or i will put off doing something i don’t want to do until the last minute and then stress myself out unnecessarily.

in order to avoid the stress and hardship that comes with that, different friends and i serve as accountability partners for one another. sometimes it’s formal, as maggie and i are currently in talks to work out, and other times it’s more in passing, but each time it helps.

there was the time a few years ago when i was setting out my goals for the year and asked jesse to check up on me every so often. we didn’t set any clear deadlines, but whenever it popped into her head she would ask me if i’d made any progress. sometimes i had, sometimes i hadn’t, and sometimes i’d forgotten all about them; the random reminders ensured i kept my goals somewhere in my mind.

there was also the time last year when i decided to seek out a therapist or counselor to speak to about various things going on in my life. i had mulled it over for a long time but never bit the bullet to set something up. i mentioned it in conversations with both maggie and chrystal, they asked if i wanted support in making it happen, and they both followed up until i made an appointment.

and then there’s this year. maggie and i are both in periods of transition but have been struggling with focusing in and making our next step happen for ourselves. when she texted me the other day asking if we could be accountability partners for this, i enthusiastically responded with a yes. but because this is an important endeavor – and a time sensitive one for her – it requires more than a random text reminder. i suggested we both think of what support we need in these next few months and then make a plan together of how we can both be successful.

there are plenty of other times i’ve asked friends to help hold me accountable, and times i’ve done it for others, but these are the three that really stick out in my head. for me, speaking something out loud to someone else significantly increases my chances of following through. not to mention that i’ll complete a task if it means someone will stop asking me about it 🙂

have you ever tried this? how has it worked out for you?

xx