Back on November 16th I made a committment to myself, and all of you.
I committed to losing 20lbs by January 30, 2010 (my 45th birthday). I weighed 177 at the time and hadn’t weighed below 160 since college. Many thought I was nuts…doing it right before the “pig out” holidays.
My objective was twofold…
Obviously, the first objective was to improve my health. This is important to me. I wanted a higher level of energy. I also wanted to look better, live longer and be an positive example for others.
My second objective was to prove out something I call “scarey accountability”. Here’s how scarey accountability works:
- Identify an important goal that you haven’t been able to achieve (make sure the goal is specific, measurable, achievable, realistically high and time targeted). This can be a business or personal goal.
- Do something that holds you accountable to achieving the goal, in a risky (or scarey) way. For example, me announcing to thousands of people that I intented to lose 20lbs.
- Do it!!
Well, I’m proud to announce that I achieved my goal! In fact, I achieved it two weeks ago and have maintained my goal weight of 157 since then. Here’s the interesting part…it was easy. Once I made the committment to all of you (scarey accountability), failure was no longer an option. With that option gone, my only choice was success.
My next committment is that I will continue to weigh under 160 for the next 6 months (July 31, 2010). Some people have asked me why I don’t set a goal of maintaining this weight for the rest of my life. Sounds logical, however, I never like to create goals I can only reach when I die.
What goal are you having trouble achieving? How can you use scarey accountability to help you succeed? Remember, annoucing the goal to thousands of people is only one option. There are many ways to commit yourself…to make success your only option.
I’d like to hear from you. Please reply to this post with the answers to these two questions:
- What’s your goal?
- What’s your scarey accountability strategy?
Thanks for holding me accountable!!
Mike
