10 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable

by | Aug 27, 2025 | Goal Setting & Success

If I asked you if eating healthy foods was important, you’d probably say ‘of course’!
And if I asked whether exercise is key for health and wellness, you’d most likely respond with a ‘yes’.


So if we know that nutrition plus fitness is the magic formula for living a vibrantly healthy life… why don’t we do it?
Why do we prioritize one over the other? Why do we only get serious after a wake-up call, like getting winded on one flight of stairs or a high blood pressure reading?


The truth is simple: the missing link is accountability.

In my experience coaching hundreds of individuals at TAO Training Facility, accountability is the bridge between knowing what to do and actually doing it.

We’re often willing to let ourselves down time after time, but when someone else is counting on us, we show up for them.

Here’s the problem:
• We don’t want to disappoint others… yet we routinely disappoint ourselves.
• We justify skipping workouts.
• We put off starting our nutrition plan until Monday.
• We promise ourselves “next time.”

Each time this happens, we subconsciously tally another “failure,” which chips away at our confidence and self-belief. Over time, we begin to see ourselves as incapable, inept, or weak-minded.

Here’s the good news: relying on others to hold us accountable is OK—especially in the beginning. One of the first steps you can take is finding someone to keep you accountable. Do you have someone in your life that you can depend on for that?

At TAO, we’ve built a framework of accountability into everything we do:
• Coaches check in when you miss class.
• We greet you and celebrate every milestone.
• Our community notices when you’re absent and reaches out with a quick text: “Hey, you good? We missed you today!”

This safety net works wonders as you build momentum and develop consistency.
But here’s the hard truth: no matter how much accountability provided, it ultimately comes down to YOU. You have to buy into the process. You have to decide every day that your goals matter enough to take action.

Here are 10 tips for holding yourself accountable to your goals:

  1. Engage in a community. We want to help you! It is our business! If you don’t engage, you are missing out on a big piece of the magic. Who wouldn’t want a group of like-minded people cheering you on every step of the way?
  2. Set reminders on your phone. Schedule your workouts like appointments you can’t miss. Set an alarm for when you need to start prepping your healthy meal so that you don’t look at the clock, realize you have no time and reach for something unhealthy out of convenience.
  3. Tell a coach when you’re planning to come to class. By putting your intentions out there, you have created an expectation that you will want to follow through on.
  4. Print off a calendar, hang it in a visible spot and cross off the days you hit the gym or stayed true to your nutrition plan so that you can visually see all the marks of your success. It’s satisfying to see your efforts adding up and will reinforce your intentions to keep going!
  5. Share your story on social media or another public forum. There’s something to be said for putting it all out there! Even if no one on social media follows up with you on your progress, making a claim publicly will make you more likely to keep your word.
  6. Take progress pics. To see our progress, we have to remember where we started. We get used to how we currently look because change is subtle and gradual. By looking back to our starting point and comparing it to where we are now, we can take stock of the progress we have made since day one.
  7. Set quarterly goal-setting meetings with an accountability buddy. If you are a member at TAO, we want to schedule these meetings with you every quarter, so reach out to get yours on the calendar! If you aren’t a member here, find a friend who needs accountability, too, and make quarterly dates to review your progress and set goals for the future.
  8. Constantly remind yourself of your “why.” A goal is great, but if we don’t know why we want to reach it, it doesn’t mean much. Ask yourself why you want to focus on your fitness and nutrition. How will it impact your life? How will it make you feel? It doesn’t hurt to do some visualization either. Mentally imagine yourself as the person you see yourself as if your goals are met. Once you have a solid “why,” remind yourself of it daily so that you internalize it and keep it close to your heart.
  9. Don’t make it all or nothing. “Rome wasn’t built in a day”—we all know that saying, and it’s true! We are on a journey, not a quick trip to the supermarket. There will be ups and downs. There will be plateaus. There will be naysayers and stress and self-doubt. Don’t let those things knock you off your path. Acknowledge them, thank them for teaching you something about yourself and then continue to make forward progress.
  10. Reward yourself for reaching micro-goals. Everyone likes a prize, right? Set micro-goals along the path to your BIG goals and reward yourself for hitting those milestones along the way. An example is if someone wants to lose 30 pounds, they can give themselves a little gift for every five-pound loss. Someone who wants to focus on nutrition can reward themselves for each solid week of staying on track or keeping their eating out to below an acceptable minimum for the week. These rewards don’t have to cost money, either—get creative with things you enjoy and treat yourself!

There are many other ways to keep yourself accountable, so find what works for you. Something that worked once might not work forever—switch things up often to stay excited and motivated about your success.

If you need help getting started on your health and wellness path, feel free to contact us! We would love to set up a No-Sweat Intro with you where we talk about you, your current lifestyle and your goals, and help you make a plan of action. Book one HERE !

Coach Katie

TAO Training Facility

478.818.1681
4010 Northside Drive Unit B Macon, GA 31204