Succeed in Habits Creation: Make an Announcement and have an Accountability Partner

William James referenced Scottish philosopher Alexander Bain when he said “In the acquisition of a new habit, or the leaving off of an old one, we must ... take a public pledge.” I’m a firm believer in announcing habits.

When I began my new exercise routine I told many friends what my plan was: to get up at 5 AM, and exercise. The more people I told, the more   I felt committed to continue my habit. After all, how could I disappoint my friends and myself?

So go ahead: tell everyone about your new habits. Commit to them and make yourself accountable.

TIME IN

Have you made an announcement today about a new habit of yours? How big was the announcement for you? How many people know about it? Go and tell everyone! Call your friends, family  members  and colleagues. Send them an email. Publish it on Facebook. Tweet it. The more announcements, the better.

ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

Research shows that people who have an exercise partner have a better chance of successfully losing weight, but this can be applied to any habit you are trying to implement.

Based on this, I suggest you find an accountability partner. An accountability partner is someone who has already successfully implemented a habit you want to work on, or who is highly motivated and dedicated to implementing that same habit (i.e. going to the gym together, helping each other choose the right food, losing weight, studying new subjects, etc.).

ACTION

List all the habits you want to work on and write down the name of a potential accountability partner next to each habit.

SUPPORT GROUP

Today, there are many support groups to help people manage and overcome issues such as addiction, grief, eating disorders, anxiety, etc.

To establish certain habits, in addition to having an accountability partner, a support group may be useful. A study of weight loss groups with 10,000 participants, published in the British Medical Journal, shows that those in a support group lost 15.2 more pounds on average than those with no support group.

Now that we have this knowledge, let’s apply it to any habit we want to implement. It does not need to be a large nor an official support group. Signing up a few friends to work on a common goal will help you and your friends implement a new habit regardless of what the habit is.

TIME IN

Would it help if you had an accountability partner? How about a support group? Who can be your accountability partner or a member of your support group?

Braco Pobric is an Internationally Recognized Positive Psychology Expert and Corporate Trainer. He is the bestselling author of Habits and Happiness: How to Become Happier and Improve Your Wellbeing by Changing Your Habits. Braco is a founding member and Chief Happiness Officer of the Life Success Academy Certified Positive Psychology Master Trainer and former globally Certified Trainer and Business Coach for Dale Carnegie Training. He trained over 60,000 Students in 172 countries.