Accountabillabuddies

My secret weapon if I really need to make something happen. Take someone on the journey with me!

Examples:

• Read a book and push a report to someone every month.
• Work out with someone in the morning.
• Do only cold showers for a month
• Meditate daily

My willpower is strong as steel, until I get tired, distracted, bored, or sad. Then it’s about as strong as overcooked spaghetti.

If I want to do something hard on a consistent basis, and I have no pre-existing motivation to get it done – phone a friend.

Why it works:

• Commitment: It’s hard to back down when you’ve promised someone something. You’ll not just let yourself down, you’ll let a friend down. And you’ll show them that you have no integrity, that you don’t follow through on promises. Compared to the shame, whatever you have to do probably isn’t that bad.
• Punishment: If the above shame isn’t bad enough, you can add punishment. Maybe you have to pay your buddy when you fail. Or maybe you have to pay money to a cause you don’t support. Or maybe you have to do 150 burpees on live Facebook video. You can get creative here.
• Journey sharing: The best setups are the ones where both accountabillabuddies are doing the work. Suddenly you’re on a journey with another person. You show up for yourself, but you also show up for them. Each of the participants gets a chance to help someone else evolve.

This setup works for me, and it works for a lot of other people I know. It seems universally human. Try it out.