Most of us in our work is accountable to someone. This person can either have a positive or negative effect on us, but most of the time, it will motivate you to perform and get results. The same can be said about reaching your health and fitness goals. If you have someone you are made accountable to, you have a better chance of sticking to and reaching
your goal.

Over the summer, I completed my first ever Iron Man in Cork. I had a goal and stuck to it, but after the event was complete, I lost my motivation and started to fall into poor habits. I decided to find an accountability partner, and in my case, I was signing up for the gym but asking the gym to keep on top of me if I missed a class. If you are in the same situation as me, constantly skipping that class, or overlooking that evening walk with a friend, maybe it’s time you decided to make yourself accountable to someone, and more specifically, a ‘professional’.

What I mean by a ‘professional’ is someone trained to look after your health and fitness needs; this could be a personal trainer, doctor or even a nutritionist. Having a professional to help you reach your goal means that they can help you set realistic targets and provide guidance along the way. They can also ask you those problematic questions like ‘why did you skip a meal?’ or ‘what stopped you from getting your eight hours of sleep?’ If this was a friend or family member asking these questions, you might respond differently. Probably a less pleasant one, or ignore the question altogether! Professional support can help you monitor your progress and identify any areas or problems preventing you from reaching your goals. It would help if you still gained the support of your family and friends but considered them more as your cheerleaders.

Your cheerleaders should be people who are willing to give you as much positive motivation as they can. So when you’re finding it hard and thinking it’s not worth it, these people are there to say, ‘yes, you can, keep going. We are here to help. You can also get them to join your journey by training with you, which makes you both accountable. The flip side of this is those damaging people or energy sappers. Stay well away from them. These people will say that ‘you can’t do it or ‘what’s the point of doing all this work’. They are likely jealous and don’t have the willpower or motivation to do what you are doing. They will always have excuses for why they can’t do it but never blame themselves! So if you’re finding it hard to motivate yourself, don’t give up. It happens to the best of us. Consider making yourself accountable to a professional and build a support group of cheerleaders to help you smash your goals.