Accountability

Today is the start of a new regime for me. I am sitting in a great local coffee shop with a good friend of mine and we are talking about blogs and generally how to make our on line presence more effective.

All very interesting (or perhaps not) but the point is this: I realize that it is important to have a blog that is regularly updated. I know that and I have even placed a note in my schedule to ensure I do it on Wednesday mornings (i.e. today). However, despite my best intentions and early success with this I have been sporadic over the last few weeks – perhaps that’s actually months if I really check.

So sitting with a friend and business colleague provides me with a higher level of accountability. It is like having a training partner. I know that I will be seeing him, and sitting opposite him on a weekly basis so I have to make the effort to do what I know I should be doing. There is no escape!

Is there something in your life that you know you really should be doing but don’t always get around to? It is not solely a question of self-discipline or motivation. We have probably all seen the gym full on January 2nd and empty again by March. It’s tough. Life gets in the way. I have found that making a commitment to somebody else, and having them hold you accountable even if it just to make a regular appointment is very powerful.

He also bought me a coffee – thanks mate!

Excuses, excuses

If you are anything at all like me you are quite good at talking to yourself. Sometimes it seems as though there is a second person talking to me. On the tennis court I sometimes, literally talk to myself, for example: “move your feet”, “What are you doing?” and so on.

I am also good at justifying things to myself. For example I can rehearse in my mind reasons for not attending a network event. Perhaps I will know most of the people there already, I may have had a hard day and therefore won’t be at my best so I would rather not create a poor impression. Maybe I have another thing that I MUST do that clashes (and there isn’t time to do both). Maybe it will get better later this month when summer is over and I’ll be more focused.

Any of this familiar? All these reasons sound plausible, and perhaps they are. But ask yourself: Are you really making excuses for something you know you should (and ultimately could) do?

You probably don’t have this problem or it’s not too much of an issue for you. It helps to set yourself some targets and then write them down and do them. If you reach your target you can miss that meeting without feeling bad, or needing to make an excuse to yourself.

Have fun listening to yourself especially if you have a tendency to self-justify and/or make excuses.

Have a great weekend……

Check your attitude

Wow! I lost a little focus over the last few weeks after celebrating my father’s 80th birthday in the UK.

How is your attitude to life? This is a tough one so think about something specific such as: “What is your attitude to prospecting for business?”. This is a real one for me so if you will permit me, I will go with that one.

I’ve talked here before about positive attitudes but what is the relationship between attitude and behavior? Most of us think that how we feel about something determines how we react/what we do (i.e. our behavior). That sounds logical right? We find something boring so we react sluggishly and perhaps find excuses not to do what we know we should. We are worried about meeting new people because we are shy, and therefore avoid social situations.

However the reverse situation is also true and this is counter-intuitive. If you carry out specific behaviors, it affects your attitude. Think about that for a moment.

I will use the example I gave initially. I used to dislike networking events and I told myself I wasn’t good at it and spent a lot of time trying to justify why I wasn’t going to go to various events. However I instinctively knew I needed to do this to build my business so I basically forced myself. It was a slow process but eventually I realized I was beginning to enjoy these events, even look forward to them! In other words my attitude changed as a result of my behavior.

I have borrowed this revelation from my sales training and it really works in many areas. Try it! Carry out some behaviors consistently and you may be surprised how your attitude to the tasks changes.