FINDING THE RIGHT ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

Did you know there’s a 65% chance of you reaching your goals if you have an accountability partner?  I often avoid the FFA (family-friends-associates) trap because they tends to kill your dreams and hinder your imagination. Funny how you were encouraged as a child to follow your dreams and allow your imagination to run wild, but as soon as you became an adult and started pursuing those dreams, it resulted in a different energy. The same people who supported you then, now suddenly don’t want to see a success story greater than theirs. I was always told to never trust an opportunist, because they’ll show themselves to be in your corner as long as there is a benefit, yet sabotage your efforts to get the glory. Your reality should be to avoid those who tend to be discouraging, and it starts with setting boundaries.

If you’ve played Spades before, you know how important a simple card game can affect your mood. A game that can be the difference between excitement and elevated blood pressure. As crazy as that sounds, good players know the importance of having a good partner. So, my question is, who will be your accountability partner to keep you on track? Who can you trust to be a true friend who tells you the truth rather than what you want to hear? Who will share those candid conversations and let you know in the process; they don’t care if you like it. At the end of the day, they’re still going to love you no matter what.

When you examine the suites of a deck of cards, spades are the highest and most valued ones. In comparison to your life, spades represent truth and value. Your truth represents integrity, and that’s all you have to stand on. You add value through happiness, educating yourself, being authentic rather than judgmental, and supporting others in finding their purpose. There are several things you could do to achieve truth and value, so allow your goals and aspirations to be the spades in the cards dealt to you. Diamonds represent rarity and uniqueness. As consumers, we spend thousands of dollars on these precious stones. You would be a fool not to value yourself as much as you would a diamond ring or pendant, so you must not only know your worth but understand the VALUE of your worth. Clubs represent unity and friendship. Finding the right partner and learning how to work together and support each other's efforts will last a lifetime. Lastly, the suite of hearts represents love. You must love yourself unconditionally because if you don’t, you can’t possibly expect others to.

You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. The importance of relationships is like building a starting five basketball team. Define which person you are and whom do you want to become? You have the pessimist who always displays a negative attitude and doesn’t want anything out of life. This individual will stop at no cost to discourage you from seeking your dreams. They are miserable in their personal lives and want you to feel the same way. It’s draining and unnecessary, and you should immediately remove these characters from your circle. Then there’s the lazy group of people who are superficial and complacent about where they are in life. They are stagnant and will do no more than what’s required. They go whichever the wind blows and could care less about the outcome.  There’s the doubter who wants to help everyone yet, doesn’t know how to say no and wand up consistently being manipulated. Doubters lack confidence in themselves and always seek advice before they act. Doubters usually become enablers because they want to see the good in others but are taken advantage of. We then have dreamers who are confident and willing to put in the effort but lack motivation. These are usually individuals who will start a task but seldom see it through to the finish. They need consistent motivation to keep that fire burning. Finally, there are the ambitious people who are happy, determined self-starters, and carry a positive outlook on life. This is the group that’s going to seek purpose by any means necessary. They have an attitude that simply says “I can” and will overcome anything I put my mind to. Never be average; remember, doubt kills more dreams than failure. NEVER lose yourself in the process!!!