By Susan O’Halloran, MPH

Having someone hold your feet to the fire is not always a bad thing.  In fact, in the health & wellness field it is often essential for any kind of sustained life style change although the incentive to achieve health & wellness goals is, thankfully, more often driven by carrots rather than sticks.  Women especially don’t do well with threats or guilt as motivating factors for change.  Fantastic things can happen, however, when women set their own goals for optimal health and are continually encouraged to achieve those goals in the company of other women.

Being accountable for your goals, either through a deadline checklist, computer reminder, accountability partner or whatever system you’ve devised, can keep your goals front and center and increase the likelihood of achieving any goal.  My top reasons to encourage you to set up some type of accountability system for your health & wellness goals are:

1. Deadline pressure will keep you on target (remember you set the goals and will want to see progress!)
2. An Accountability Partner gives you someone to talk to on a regular basis about successes and challenges toward reaching your goals
3. You get a well deserved sense of accomplishment when you achieve a goal (and can check that box off!)
4. Accountability Partners or checklists help you realize when a goal, or action steps related to the goal, may need to be adjusted for any number of reasons before failure looms

So ladies…if you’re wondering why you’re still finding it hard to start and stick with a weight loss and exercise program, or learn how to meditate, or find that parenting expert or get your financial house in order….think about setting some clear goals (the big picture) i.e. I want to lose 12 lbs over the next year and change how I shop, cook and eat to keep it off.  Create action steps to go with this goal, i.e. Take a supermarket tour over the next two weeks and work with a nutritionist to put together a meal plan (complete with recipes) that works for my busy life style (within the next month).  Then TELL someone what you are up to or better yet, FIND someone with a similar goal to join you.  Set dates to eat at each other’s home or cook double and share. The possibilities are endless and let’s face it…when the going gets tough or it’s time to celebrate, it’s much more fun having a friend along for the ride.

Written by: Susan O’Halloran, MPH.  Susan is the Founder & President of Here’s to Life Now! a healthy living company based in Connecticut.

We are bringing you this blog for a second time thanks to new technology allowing us to distribute our blogs to an even wider audience.  Enjoy and remember your comments are always welcome and appreciated!