A New Year... with Accountability

"A New Year", I like the thought that come with this expression. "starting over",  "a second chance", and "a fresh start" are also ways that express the idea that no matter what has happened in the past you can "Begin again". 

Let's face it, if you are like me, you start out with high expectations and lofty goals only to be discouraged with in a  few months (or weeks) from "beginning" (if you even get started in the first place).

Exercise programs are interrupted by the need for sleep. Scolding your children less is dismissed by their constant misbehavior. Keeping the house clean is stifled by life happening every day...in your house. 

So, you get the point, it is hard to make a "resolution" and keep it. Am I saying that it is senseless to try? No, of course not. There are many things in our life that we want to and need to improve. The question is "How to do it?".

It is easier to fail at keeping a goal when we make a commitment, then try to keep it on our own. Obviously when we do this no one knows when we fail, well almost no one that is. We know of our failure and sadly, our failure does not always drive us to start again and succeed. In fact, when we fail at something, it is often easier to simply say that we will try again later (and never get back to it) or say that it wasn't all that important in the first place. But what if it was something that really is important? What if it is something that will help strengthen us so we do not relapse in illness or depression? 

Have you thought about making a commitment and finding accountability?

In the Christian community, such as a mission organizations, they often recognize the need to have "accountability partners", someone that you are accountable to for any number of Christian disciplines. They have found that when you know someone is going to ask, "So how much time did you spend in God's Word this week?" that it motivates you to get into the Word. 

You see, it is not a matter of having someone in your business as much as it is recognizing your own frailty as a human, as well as your desire to succeed. If you are very self committed and never give up, awesome, you go. If you are like me, having lofty goal but are very distracted, then asking someone to "walk along side you" during your journey will help you meet the goal much easier than trying to do it on your own and failing.

There is a beautiful verse in the Bible that sums up having accountability when you are trying to keep a commitment (make a change) in Ecclesiastes 4:9, "Two are better that one, because they have a good return for their toil".

So go ahead make that New Year's Resolution and succeed in keeping it by having someone, you trust, to hold you accountable!