The Power of Accountability

by guest author John Lenning

The following is a letter that I received from a new friend. I asked him if I could share it because I thought it was awesome.

I just wanted to say “thanks” for helping to get me back on track.
For a little over a year before I contacted you, I had been having  pain in my hip flexors. It started off as nagging pains, but got worse and worse with each month. About one month before I met you, I went  to my sister’s house for a weekend get-together.

One of my college buddies who I had not seen in over 9 months was there. When he saw me, he said “Haven’t seen you in a while, what have you been up to?”

I paused for a second, then replied “Work, and uhh…that’s about it”

He replied, “Work, that’s it?”

I said, “Yeah….”

He then said, “Seriously, you haven’t done anything else?”

 I just kind of stood there with a dumb look on my face, thinking, “Wow, I really have not been doing anything, have I?”

After what seemed like forever, I  kind of laughed and acted like it was not a big deal. I then quickly changed the subject to something about his job.

For a week after that, I just kept asking myself what I had been doing. His question made me take a look at myself and realize that I had let my pain prevent me from doing things. I had been using it as an excuse. I had used my hip injury to justify skipping the gym, camping trips, and other things. I even used it to justify my poor eating habits.

I realized that I had been passively going through life, never stopping to see that things seemed to be going downhill.

Even after that experience, it took me over three weeks to convince myself that I needed to start doing something about the pain. I finally convinced myself that I needed to actually do something and was able to convince myself to talk to Mike. The rest is history.

I am thankful that I was able to finally break through the walls that I had built, and ask Mike if he knew what I should do. If I had not, I would still be living a mediocre lifestyle. Thanks to you guys I am back to my old self.

Thanks again,

Here is the lesson:

If you are having a difficult time motivating yourself, get someone you can trust and tell them what is going on. Then, tell them that you are not comfortable in your situation. Ask them to hold you accountable to do something about it. You do not need to ask for “help” or “assistance” just accountability

About the Author: John is a competitive athlete and trainer. When John is not working out, coaching, or eating, he is usually trying to learn something new. He currently writes about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of hip pain at his personal site.