The Promise
I will be an accountability partner for at least one of my friends or family members during this difficult time.
Impact of the Promise
Dr. Gail Matthews, a professor in the Department of Psychology at Dominican University, found that if you check in weekly with a friend about a goal you are 70% more likely to accomplish that goal. During challenging times, we often feel isolated and alone, which can push us further away from one another and our goals. Instead of allowing yourself to stop making promises because it is more difficult to keep them, choose someone who you can lean on for support and who will hold you accountable to making it through. Checking in requires some thoughtfulness and planning, but with a strategy in place, you can support your accountability partner while keeping your own wellbeing in mind.
Action Items
Do
- Choose a friend or family member and agree to be each other’s accountability partner.
- Calendar a check-in time each day. Quick text check-ins are good throughout the day, but you should aim to talk on the phone (or in person if they are quarantined with you) at least once a day.
- Once a week, use that check-in time to discuss a promise or goal that each of you has made. Be there to listen and discuss any challenges you are facing.
- What to talk to your partner about:
- Focus on the positive. Share at least one positive thing that happened since the last time you talked.
- Discuss what both of you have on your schedules for the day.
- Remind your partner that shortfalls are part of the process. If they are struggling with anything, let them know that it is normal to feel that way, especially right now, and that you are there for them.
- Leave with an action plan. Have it on your calendar when you will talk again.
- Use our Promise Planner (download here) to help walk you through making a promise.
- Watch our Accountability Video to learn exactly what accountability is and how having an accountability partner can help.
Don’t
- Don’t feel like you need to have all of the answers. Just being there for someone and listening can be powerful.
- Don’t skip a check-in.
- Don’t go to see them if you are not already quarantined with them. Remember to keep your distance physically but be there for them in other ways.
Resources:This Is Why You Need to Write Down Your Goals for Faster Success” https://www.inc.com/peter-economy/this-is-way-you-need-to-write-down-your-goals-for-faster-success.html“Goal Setting (Harvard Research)” https://www.dominican.edu/sites/default/files/2020-02/gailmatthews-harvard-goals-researchsummary.pdf
Element of Honor
Accountability
I must be willing to accept personal responsibility for what I have done and what I have failed to do – both in what is good and what is not. Accountability helps me understand that my decisions have consequences. I help hold others accountable, but before I become too upset with the broken promises of others, I remember that I too have weaknesses.
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