how do I hold myself accountable?

Accountability vs. Desire

Keri was flummoxed. She couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t getting things done. “I’ve got these few things on my to-do list, and I just keep avoiding them. I need someone who’ll help me get things done.” And I said to her what I say to everyone who tells me that: “I don’t help you get things done. I help you figure out why the things on your to-do list aren’t lighting you up to the point where you can’t STOP yourself from doing them.” At the core of “Why am I not doing this?” is another question: Do you truly WANT to do it? Do you truly desire that end result that will come after you do that thing? Many people I talk to, Keri included, respond with “I don’t know. I don’t know what I truly want.” They haven’t even explored the idea. Haven’t even considered that there might be something…more.

What do you truly Want?

At the core of “How can I make myself do this thing?” is something even bigger. And even better: How can I create a to-do list that’s filled with things I want to do? Things nobody could stop be from doing? In other words: Nobody needs to make me eat chocolate. I got that covered. Just try and stop me. And nobody needs to make me write this. If I don’t get to write this, it’ll be like an ache that I haven’t been able to soothe or heal, something that I’ll think about and will be in the back of mind as a desire, until I finally get to. Accountability is the least of it. The most of it is aligning your goals with our innate desires, the calling of your heart and soul, the essential-ness of your essential self. Aligning your goals with your innate desires, allowing your essential self to guide the way, creates ease, flow, peace and power. It creates a life where the question moves away from “How can I make myself do this?” and towards “How can I do more of this?”

Invitation

Today, consider what you’re trying to make yourself do. Ask yourself this: Do I truly want the outcome of this action? Does this item on my to-do list contribute to what lights me up? If the answer is ‘no’, I invite you to stop trying to make yourself do it, and begin crafting a life that enables more of what you love. xL