On Action and Accountability
Today marks the first week of January coming to an end. For the past seven days, many of us have been collectively participating in this “new year, new me” consciousness that emerges on day one of chapter one like clockwork. Although transformation can happen any time, we tend to associate a magical quality to the goals and intentions that are set at the start of the year.
But how do we get that magic to stretch out and keep us going during the other 11 months on the calendar?
Studies show that 80% of all resolutions fail by February. I can think of several years where this has been true for me. There seem to be two key reasons that our drive gets disrupted, and it all starts with believing in some popular myths.
Myth #1: It only takes 21 days to form a new habit.
I can't even tell you how many times I've repeated this one to myself and others, but with just a little bit of research, I quickly found out that this “fact” is completely untrue. It’s actually a misrepresentation of Dr. Maxwell Maltz’s findings in his best-selling book, Psycho-Cybernetics. In this book, which sold upwards of 30 million copies, Maltz reported that it takes “a minimum of about 21 days” but this discovery was repeated and eventually shortened over time to exclude the word “minimum” like a game of telephone. The shortened version of this finding spread like wildfire!
For all of our self-esteem and sanity, WE'VE GOTTA STOP LEAVING THAT WORD OUT! Social psychology researcher, Phillipa Lally, debunked this myth in her study which concluded that it takes an average of more than TWO MONTHS to make the change, with results varying from 18 to as much as 254 days until a habit is fully formed. So, let’s have some more compassion for ourselves and remember that true progress and transformation comes as a result of a daily practice that is observed and maintained over time.
Myth #2: We can do it alone.
So many of us create our resolutions in private, and refuse to share them with anyone. Why? Because! Most of us are grappling with a fear of failure that is constantly bubbling underneath the surface, preventing us from giving our all to the things that we say matter most to us in life. If we tell someone about our goals, then suddenly we have to become accountable to them, right?
As it turns out, accountability is almost unnegotiable when it comes to goal achievement. The American Society of Training and Development did a study on accountability and discovered the probabilities of completing a goal as follows:
10% if we have an idea or a goal.
25% if we consciously decide we will pursue it.
40% if we decide when we will do it.
50% if we create an action plan of how we will do it.
65% if we commit to someone that we will do it.
95% if we have a specific accountability appointment with a person that we’ve committed to.
Dear one, if this new year has ignited a spark of transformation within you, then I hope you will spend some time with these words. Consider committing yourself to a sacred practice of taking daily action towards your goals (no matter how small, and from a place of self-compassion) AND allowing someone else to hold you in the light of that beautiful, vibrant vision that you have for your life. Try this, and you may just find yourself living inside of your best and brightest year ever!