Well what you are looking for is accountability. It’s an important part of any coaching relationship. But with self-coaching, it’s easy to let yourself slide. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to hold onto accountability…
Write Down Your Goals
The first step is to be open about what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re not clear on what your goal is, self-coaching may not be a good fit for you at this time. You may need the help of a life coach to determine what your goals are.
If you know what you want to do, then write down that goal. You want to be specific while doing this. Don’t put down a vague goal like “earn more money” or “lose some weight”. Get honest with yourself here—do you want to earn an extra 20K this year? Are you working to lose 60 pounds?
The more specific you are, the easier accountability will be. That’s because you’ll be able to look back and see if you’ve achieved your goals or not.
Set Milestones
Once you know what your goal is, establish what the milestones are. Milestones are like rest stops. If you’ve ever traveled on a long road trip, then you know how refreshing a good stop can be. It gives you a chance to stretch your legs, fuel back up, and remind yourself why you were excited about the journey in the first place.
Tiny milestones tend to work best. So if your goal is to lose 60 pounds, then focus on losing the first 10. If you want to earn $20K extra this year, concentrate on making $2K first. With small milestones you feel like you’re making progress faster and you’ll be more energized to keep going.
Review Your Progress
An important part of accountability is stopping to look at your progress regularly. Every two to three months, have a check-in session. This is when you pull out your list of goals and your milestones. If you’re getting closer to your goal and hitting milestones, celebrate.
If you’re not making the progress you’d hoped to be, don’t use this as an excuse to shame or berate yourself. Instead, get curious. Ask yourself why you’re not reaching for this goal and be honest in your answer. Is it really that you don’t have time? Or is it that you’re not making it a priority?
Course Correct
As you review your progress toward your goals, you may spot problems. This is an excellent time to course correct. For example, if your goal is to write a book and you’re still on chapter one, you may realize that you need to build writing time into your schedule each day.
Reward Yourself
An important part of the self-coaching process is rewarding good behavior. When you reach a milestone or a goal, you need to give yourself positive feedback in the form of a reward.
This reward should match the accomplishment. You don’t want to give yourself a lavish $10K vacation cruise if your goal is to save money and invest it.
Instead, choose a reward that you find exciting and that represents your goal. For example, if your goal is to build your business then training or a tool to help you on your new path would make an excellent reward for reaching a business goal.
Accountability is necessary in every coaching relationship, especially when you’re self-coaching. It takes discipline and determination to reach your goals but you can do it if you’re committed to the process.
Write Down Your Goals
The first step is to be open about what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re not clear on what your goal is, self-coaching may not be a good fit for you at this time. You may need the help of a life coach to determine what your goals are.
If you know what you want to do, then write down that goal. You want to be specific while doing this. Don’t put down a vague goal like “earn more money” or “lose some weight”. Get honest with yourself here—do you want to earn an extra 20K this year? Are you working to lose 60 pounds?
The more specific you are, the easier accountability will be. That’s because you’ll be able to look back and see if you’ve achieved your goals or not.
Set Milestones
Once you know what your goal is, establish what the milestones are. Milestones are like rest stops. If you’ve ever traveled on a long road trip, then you know how refreshing a good stop can be. It gives you a chance to stretch your legs, fuel back up, and remind yourself why you were excited about the journey in the first place.
Tiny milestones tend to work best. So if your goal is to lose 60 pounds, then focus on losing the first 10. If you want to earn $20K extra this year, concentrate on making $2K first. With small milestones you feel like you’re making progress faster and you’ll be more energized to keep going.
Review Your Progress
An important part of accountability is stopping to look at your progress regularly. Every two to three months, have a check-in session. This is when you pull out your list of goals and your milestones. If you’re getting closer to your goal and hitting milestones, celebrate.
If you’re not making the progress you’d hoped to be, don’t use this as an excuse to shame or berate yourself. Instead, get curious. Ask yourself why you’re not reaching for this goal and be honest in your answer. Is it really that you don’t have time? Or is it that you’re not making it a priority?
Course Correct
As you review your progress toward your goals, you may spot problems. This is an excellent time to course correct. For example, if your goal is to write a book and you’re still on chapter one, you may realize that you need to build writing time into your schedule each day.
Reward Yourself
An important part of the self-coaching process is rewarding good behavior. When you reach a milestone or a goal, you need to give yourself positive feedback in the form of a reward.
This reward should match the accomplishment. You don’t want to give yourself a lavish $10K vacation cruise if your goal is to save money and invest it.
Instead, choose a reward that you find exciting and that represents your goal. For example, if your goal is to build your business then training or a tool to help you on your new path would make an excellent reward for reaching a business goal.
Accountability is necessary in every coaching relationship, especially when you’re self-coaching. It takes discipline and determination to reach your goals but you can do it if you’re committed to the process.
