Sometimes, people get in touch seeking coaching to keep them accountable for career and life goals. But, what does it really mean to be “held accountable” for keeping track of your own life? The real question is — WHY you would need someone else to keep you accountable?  This is the more fertile line of enquiry for coaching.

Looking deeper 

For those who are dare to explore this psychological knot, there is often some hidden belief around things that you believe you should achieve in life. Along with some idea of the pace at which you must achieve these things. So, the very act of living becomes no different to a mundane work project. A project that you have to do because your boss said so, not because you really want to.

So, rather than revel in the glory of the human experience and all the possibilities it brings, we try to measure ourselves against all manner of arbitrary benchmarks and feel bad for not reaching them.   Furthermore, some have not paused to ask if the things they chase are really of any interest to them. For without intrinsic interest, whatever external measures you put in place to keep you accountable will only be flimsy scaffolding. It might work for a bit, but not in any meaningful way. 

YOU keep you accountable 

The only person that can really keep you accountable for your life is you. Ultimately, this is a place of self-understanding beyond any external structure, rules or laws. You decide what is important to you and how you want to live because those things have inherent meaning. Because they are worth doing for their own sake and not because they tick some outside box. 

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Harsha is a 1:1 coach and independent thinker based in London. He empowers people to find more clarity, confidence and focus in their lives — to cut through the noise, in a world so full of it. Harsha’s new book, Machine Ego: Tragedy of the Modern Mind, is now available in paperback and Kindle through Amazon.