Action and Accountability

Mind Lesson Two: Action and Accountability

In this lesson we will discuss Action and Accountability, steps 4 and 5 on the Goal Setting Feedback Loop.

ACTION

An Action is something that you do on a regular basis to make progress towards your goal. Consistent actions become a habit, and to move towards your goals, you want to establish healthy and effective habits that serve you. In this article we will discuss initiating good quality actions which will build into habits.

IMPLEMENTING ACTIONS

When it comes to implementing your actions ask yourself a few questions:

WHY is it so important to you to complete these actions?

Understanding your goal and why it is so important to you will help you to stay more accountable to your actions. Remind yourself weekly WHY you are doing these actions, so they are more likely to become a habit.

WHAT specific actions do you need to focus on each week to attain that goal?

Based on your goal, chunck down the actions necessary to achieve every week. Then you can place them in your HABIT TRACKER to tick off.

WHEN will you complete your actions ?

Time blocking in you calendar or diary is a great way to make sure you know WHEN you will complete your actions. Set aside each week the time necessary to completion your actions. When it is scheduled, you can get it done.

HOW will you prepare for your actions?

Being prepared for your week means you are much more likely to complete your actions. Meal prep to make sure your healthy food is ready for the week, set out your gym clothes for your morning workout, book into classes so you know you will attend, being prepared and staying on top of you actions means they are much more likely to get done, even if your week gets busy.

Sustainability>Intensity

Long term effective habits are better than short term high intensity habits. While you may see results faster if you choose high intensity habits, that you can do for a short time they often are hard to maintain in the long run, so it is better to find habits that you can complete each week, but are still building you on the way to your goal.

Discipline = Freedom

On the flip side of that, if you aren’t putting in the work, you won’t see the results. Practising discipline will give you freedom. If you know you can achieve your actions but are procrastinating, not being prepared or prioritising other activities, you must put in place the appropriate discipline to get the actions done. This will help them to become a habit, plus discipline in itself is a habit that can be applied to all areas of your life. Plus you will also be able to trust yourself more because you will consistently do what you said you would!

ACCOUNTABILITY

“Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity”

- Albert Einstein

In order to make progress, you must remain accountable. With accountability you can stay on track towards your goals by being aware of what you are doing, what you are not, what actions are working and what actions are equivalent to beating your head against a brick wall. This is the purpose of the weekly REFLECTION page that is in your Journal. Looking back over your week helps you to make objective analysis of how you went and also what you should do going forwards.

When reflecting, first of all ask yourself in relation to your weekly Planning page:

“Did I achieve what I set out to this week?”

If yes, great, continue what you are doing!

If no, then you must either put in more effort towards your actions, or tweak them if they are unsustainable.

Then, answering your Reflection questions in the Journal will give you a clearer understanding of your week:

“What did I do well?”

What were your biggest wins for the week, what is working for you?

“What could I do better”

What didn’t you put enough effort into, or could have handled better?

“What did I learn that I will take to next week?”

Based on what you did well and what you could have done better, what lessons did you learn that you will apply next week?

CHECKING IN

Now while you shouldn’t expect immediate results, as slower, longer term progress is more sustainable. You do want to see changes over time. I use 4 weeks as my check in to see if I have made appropriate progress towards my goals.

If I have made progress after 4 weeks, I stick with my plan.

If I have stalled, I look back on my goal setting feedback loop to see if I can improve on listening to my resources for information (Advice), sticking to my plan (Aim) and put in place my actions (Act)

If I haven’t improved at all, or have moved further from my goal, I will freshen up my plan and continue.

Having a coach or mentor is extremely valuable in this situation to give you the correct guidance depending on your circumstances!

Consistent action applied in the correct areas achieves amazing results.