Not Everyone is Suited to be an Accountability Partner
This blog post is a continuation of a previous blog post, How to be Confident that You Will Achieve Your Goals. In that post I shared with you the benefits of being held accountable in order to help you achieve your goals. You will have far more success doing what you want to do with the help of others than trying to make it on your own. I cautioned, however, that you not solicit just any ‘ol body to help hold you accountable. Not everyone is suited to serve as an accountability partner. That being the case, it is fitting that I share with you who not choose as your accountability partner.
Who is not Accountability Partner Worthy?
Your amen corner: Your “amen corner” is not going to hold you accountable. Your amen corner agrees with everything you do, including when you opt to not do what you need to do. If you say you're tired or you are stating yet another excuse as to why you are not pressing for goal, your amen corner will tell why that is fine. You will get comments like ‘Don't worry about it girl. You deserve to take a break,” even if you have been on a “break” for weeks. People who talk more than they do are just as bad. Read on to see why.
All talk, no action people: There are a lot of people who talk a good game, but their actions do not align with their talk. They are different from people who try but fail. People who try but fail at least take action. As the name suggests, the only thing all talk no action people do is talk. They don't take action to get to the point of failure. As an accountability partner, you need someone who will encourage action. I do not know who said it, but it is true that you are what you do, not what you say you'll do. Make sure your accountability partner forces you into action and they are not a downer.
Debbie Downer people: I have no idea where the term Debbie Downer started, but man can they rain on your parade. They seem to never be happy and they want you to not be happy right there with them. You come up with an idea and they come up with a reason to knock it down or tell you why it is impossible for you to accomplish it. Instead of offering encouragement, they offer doubt. Instead of suggesting that you act on faith, they share their fears. Debbie Downers leave you powerless and believing you are living above your head. These are not the people with whom you need to share your goals, nor are those who lack ambition. More on them next.
People who lack ambition: Quite frankly I do not understand people whose only ambition in life is to do nothing. I cannot wrap my head around it. That is why my inner circle excludes those who lack ambition. They make my head hurt. DOES. NOT. COMPUTE. Ok, you get the idea of how I feel about folks such as that. Avoid them. They will suck the life out you. They complain about all that they do not have, but tell you they wish they were more like you. If they wanted to be more like you, they would be doing something other than nothing.
That ends my rant. In the next post I will be a lot more positive. In that post I will share the type of people you should seek out to help take advantage of the power of being held accountable.
Start the Discussion: What type of person has not worked well as an accountability partner for you? How would you improve that relationship? Share in the post comments, on Facebook or Twitter.