We can all talk about doing the right thing with our finances all day long. We can talk about making a budget, spending according to that budget, and living a frugal financial lifestyle. But, none of that makes any difference if we don’t walk that walk.

Sometimes, we can’t do that on our own. Sometimes it takes a wife, parent, sibling, or a friend to hold us accountable for our actions and for our progress towards our goals. Accountability has an incredible value to you. Some will quickly scoff and attribute a negative value to it, but it really isn’t a negative thing. And many who would scoff at it are merely afraid to accept any accountability for fear that they will be found failing.

The value of accountability is in it’s ability to push you towards your goals. If you set goals but there is no one who knows them and can hold you accountable, then there is no one (aside from yourself) who knows if you’ve failed. That’s safe for you, as failure isn’t usually something that we want publicized. But, it’s also bad for you. It makes it easier to fail. It makes it easier to simply move on from a failure and not learn from it.

Accountability won’t make you succeed. You’ll still need to do the footwork towards meeting your goals. What accountability does is give you that extra support from those that are holding you accountable towards making your goals. Don’t think of it as someone waiting for you to fail, or someone who is just waiting to rub in a misstep. Instead, think of those who hold you accountable as people who want you to succeed.

You should want to be held accountable. Search out those around you who truly want you to be healthy, and want you to succeed. Let them in on your goals and the steps that you are taking to making your goals happen. They’ll gladly help you and act as a positive force for your goals. Don’t be afraid of being accountable. Embrace it.