External Accountability
In my classroom, I try to teach my students to be accountable to themselves. I tell them at the end of the day the only person they have to answer to, is the one in the mirror. At the same time it is necessary and beneficial to check-in externally, with select people that you've chosen to be part of your support group. After all, you can be holding yourself accountable to goals and values and never realize that they may need to be readjusted for various reasons, for example, no longer beneficial, outdated, or no longer helping you grow.
This was a gentle reminder from Tiffany Han, guest of the e-course I'm taking with Mati. So, I'm putting it out there. Here are my goals, and you, anyone out there reading this post, can silently (or vocally) hold me accountable.
1. Paint Monday, Wednesday and Thursday for at least an hour
2. Finish 5 paintings by February
3. Be accepted to a residency program
4. Post about my progress, once a week, on Mondays
We do have to hold ourselves accountable to our standards and goals, but we can easily get fixated on the internal struggle. There are people around us, who also have expectations about our actions. When I started this journey, family and friends were probably a little worried. Is she ok? Is this some kind of mid-life crisis? Is she going to quit her job? So, just checking-in and letting people know what I'm doing.