Officially Accountable

Yesterday, I talked about setting SMART goals. Toward the end of that post I mentioned that Becca and I set some goals together. They were goals we both had been thinking, just hadn't spoken out loud. I don't know about her, but for me there was a reason for not sharing those goals "out loud". I wasn't sure I was ready to commit to them!

I am on the road a LOT! It may be short trips here or there. It may be a little longer. Sometimes for me, it is the crazy schedule of picking up one child, dropping her off and then doing the same thing with the next girl. Take a slight break, run an errand or two, and then I get to do it all over again!

I don't necessarily choose to keep a schedule like that, but when you work with school and work schedules, it doesn't always work out the way that would be best. And…when schedules are like that, it doesn't always leave much time to prepare decent meals. It requires thinking and planning ahead - something I have been working on improving...

So, the goal I have just committed to? I still hate to say it out loud - it almost scares me because I'm not sure I can do it. I have committed to not eating out at fast food restaurants unless it is absolutely necessary. Yes, it does sound ridiculous, but being in the state of mind we have been in, it is just far too easy to make an excuse to pick up that dollar burger or taco. It satisfies our need for food and saves us some time. The flip side is that it is not at all good for us. We have decided that we want to make our health more of a priority. The second goal is no soda. That one should be easy.

There. I shared it. I am now accountable to the world! I don't really think it'll be all that hard…but it will present a challenge from time to time. Of that, I am sure.

The whole point of this was to briefly mention accountability. No matter what type of goal you have, it will always be more successful if you choose to have someone keep you accountable. Here are a couple questions you could ask in an accountability session with a friend:

-Have you met your goal this week/month?

-If so, great! How did you do it? Was it too easy? Or can we strengthen the goal?

-If not, what held you back? How can I help you to improve? Or what can you do to work on success for next week/month?

-What was most challenging for you? How did you deal with that challenge?

And the most important question of all comes at the very end…

"Have you been completely honest?".

SMART Goals

Counseling appointments are a part of our normal routine. It has taken quite awhile to come to a point of a.) Finding a counselor who is able to work with us, understand our needs, and b.) Finding a counselor who is able  to establish a professional patient/counselor relationship and connect without feeling like a friend - believe it or not, that is a very important separation point!

Today we talked about SMART goals…Goals that are very specifically and strategically set to succeed. SMART goals are:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic

Timely

Three goals were set. The one that sticks out in my head is a goal dealing with daily devotions. Becca was ready to set the goal and move full guns ahead on setting the goal to be daily. Her counselor, however, reined her in a bit, asking if Becca felt that it was a Realistic goal. Becca thought and changed the goal to read 5-7 days/week. She is working through reading the New Testament in a year.

Next, the counselor asked Becca if her goal was Achievable. Some of you might think the counselor's question sounds a bit harsh or condescending. Her actual intent, however, was to help Becca to set a goal that she knew Becca could successfully meet in a shorter period of time. The goal was revised to say, "I will do my Bible study 5-7 days a week when I wake up until I finish Matthew." When she finishes Mathew, we have already discussed the revision to include Mark. It will be a series of shorter goals set throughout the year or until she has met her "big picture" goal.

I was impressed that the counselor cared enough about Becca's values to help her include them in her goals. She could have very easily avoided goals specifically related to Becca's walk with Christ and approached her with the watered down world-values of a "good" person. Instead, she was very intentional with her questions and helped Becca work through each of her goals like that.

On the way home, Becca and I had fun creating a couple more goals. We agreed to try to keep one another accountable. Although, I think we both realize that we will not be the best partners for one another because we are too close. Interestingly enough, though, the goals we set had been running through both of our heads. It was simply a matter of saying them out loud. Hopefully, we will be of the same mind and manage to make it through - a moment at a time, followed by each hour, day, and week until we realize that we have established a new routine.

Consider what lies ahead for you. Do you have goals? Do you know how you are going to accomplish them?