What Kind of Accountability Do You Need?

When I arrived at the gym, I asked one of my friends to yell at me if she saw me touching a weight.

That might seem like a strange request. After all, you typically go to the gym to be pushed harder, not for someone to tell you to do less.

So why would I ask someone to stop me from pushing myself harder?

Environment is more potent than willpower.

On days when I “don’t feel like working out,” I know that if I just show up at the gym I will find the spark I need to get started. I can count on the environment and my friends at the gym to help me get going.

Being around other people who are pushing themselves harder makes me want to push myself harder.

Usually, that’s a good thing. But not always.

Some days, the body needs rest and recovery — but that doesn’t mean sitting on the couch doing nothing.

For some people, an active recovery day might mean doing a different type of workout, or a walk in nature. Something away from the gym. For me, going to the gym even on a recovery day helps me sustain consistency in my routine.

But I know that without guardrails, I’ll be influenced by the energy of the environment. The weights are there. The vibes are high. It’s easy to fall into the routine when you’re in the context that’s situated for it.

In those situations, it helps to have someone hold you accountable to your intentions.

Knowing when to pull back and rest is as important as knowing when to push hard.

In fact, it might even be more important, because without the rest and recovery we lose our ability to push hard when that time comes.

But knowing that you need to pull back is not as easy as actually pulling back, especially when the environment is set up for pushing. That’s why it helps to have accountability.

We typically think of “accountability” as a structure to help us do more or push harder. But if you’re an overachiever, you might not need the extra push to do more. You might be inclined to push yourself too much.

In those cases, you need accountability and structure to keep us from doing too much.