Blog

In April of 2014, I wrote a blog called The Power of Accountability in which I revealed that for over twenty years, I had a phobia of driving on highways.  By sharing my secret with my colleagues, and then with all of you, I instantly had thousands of people to whom I became accountable.  I told you that I would report back at the end of the year and, well, here I am.

Right now I am vacationing in Florida for the holidays and reflecting back on 2014.  In my Roles, Goals, and Tactics that I wrote for 2014, I documented both personal and professional goals, one of which was to overcome my phobia of driving on highways.  So how did I do with my driving goal?

• Goal: Overcome phobia of driving on highways
  • Tactic: Get a recommendation for a counselor who specializes in this area – CHECK!!
  • Tactic: Meet with the counselor two times per month, on average – CHECK!!
  • Tactic: Have at least four people to hold me accountable – CHECK!!
  • Tactic: Practice driving on Lake Shore Drive and/or the highway two times per month – CHECK!!
  • Tactic: Drive on the highway by myself three times by the end of 2014 – CHECK!!

Yes, I knocked it out of the park!!!  I cannot even begin to tell you how empowering this experience has been for me.  I truly believe the reason I accomplished my goal was because I had people to whom I was accountable.  Every time I met with my counselor, I wanted to be able to share that I had made progress.  Every month at my Kenway Theta Team meeting (a monthly meeting where a small group of Kenway employees gets together to discuss non-client related topics), I wanted to be able to share that I had made progress.  And when I committed to writing a follow up blog at the end of 2014, I wanted to be able to share that I had made progress.

As I now turn to focus on 2015, I am setting even loftier personal and professional goals.  I’m excited to pick which goal I want to share in my first Kenway Theta Team meeting in January.  I said it before, and I’ll say it again – the power of accountability is amazing.  Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone!