Commitment is a huge word, and is such an important component of all of our lives. The question is: How do we hold ourselves accountable to our commitments?

In my past, I have made countless resolutions—sometimes daily, sometimes annually (think New Year’s resolutions)—only to not make it last longer than a week or a month at most.

Whether my resolution involved exercising, eating well, watching my words, etc., for the longest time, none of my resolutions went the distance.

I truly learned about commitment when I started my journey to sobriety. I learned that if I wanted to stay sober, I needed to be accountable, and for me, that accountability came in the form of attending meetings and having a sponsor.

Then I had an interaction with my daughter, where I promised her I wouldn’t yell again. I truly meant it when I made that promise, yet I failed; the subsequent shame over the failure was even worse than the shame of hurting her feelings.

So, I asked my friends to hold me accountable. I created a yelling accountability partner and penalized myself when I yelled. I can now say that over the past 5 years—with some minor exceptions—I haven’t yelled once. Lesson learned: for me, accountability partners are incredibly important.

Lastly, I usually enjoy writing my Thought of the Week, yet sometimes the commitment feels overwhelming. However, since I publish it weekly, I have all of you, my readers, as accountability partners and for that I am incredibly grateful.

How do you stay accountable? Additionally, do you find value in having accountability partners, or are you able to hold yourself accountable all on your own?

This week, I want to share my sincere gratitude to all of you who take the time to read and respond. There is nothing greater than being seen and feeling heard, and I want you to know that I appreciate every single one of you.
Accountability, Community, Unconditional Love
Asher

I want to remind all of you that you can hear more on my podcast, Showing Up. We have lots of amazing shows with interesting guests on a variety of personal development topics. It would be great if you could also rate 5 stars, review and subscribe to the show. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/showing-up-with-asher-gottesman/id1489856285y