I Don’t Care How Disciplined You Are, You Need This…
The Copywriter Column #108
We found out we were pregnant in April 2022.
At that point, me and my wife were already 5 months into a home renovation project and slated to sign a contract with a general contractor in June. He told us it would take 6 months to complete the work (a kitchen renovation and master suite addition). Plenty of time to get ready before the baby arrived.
Wrong.
We’re two years into the project and it’s still incomplete. In that time we’ve experienced an entire pregnancy, couch-surfed with a newborn, lived across the State of Georgia, celebrated our child’s first birthday, and then some.
Aside from the fact we should’ve fired our contractor a long time ago, what went wrong?
Zero accountability.
It doesn’t matter how disciplined you are (or say you are), without accountability, you’re at risk of failing to reach your goals.
Accountability is more than just having someone to report to or keep you in check.
Accountability is an organized system of checks and balances, milestones, and stretch goals, designed to help you achieve what you’ve set out to do.
Some accountability systems are complex and robust (like a home renovation should be), while others are super simple (e.g. submit your copy to the editor for review by Tuesday).
Some people, myself included, are capable of hitting certain goals on their own. But the reality is, when life gets messy, we need someone responsible for ensuring we keep things moving in the right direction.
All that to say, find yourself, someone, who can hold you accountable and who’s capable of enforcing consequences for failure along the way.
… especially if you’re renovating a home.
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Thanks for the push Matt. Needed this.