Episode 53: Accountability Is The Underpinning Of Everything That We Do

As an accountability coach I am here to give you inspiration and strength. I fill your tank with positivity and motivation and help you design personal goals to make the behavior and lifestyle changes that you are looking for.

At the same time, I need accountability too. Due to my recent interstate move, my life is crazy and unsettled. Every minute is full trying to put things in order. It seems counterproductive to add another appointment to my already bustling schedule, but that was the best thing for me to do. Taking some of my precious time to chat with my own personal coach enabled me to prioritize and tame my crazy schedule and bring next week, next month and the rest of 2020 into focus.

My coach helped me realize that accountability is the underpinning of everything that we do.

Wikipedia describes underpinning as follows: “Underpinning: a solid foundation laid below ground level to support or strengthen a building. A set of ideas, motives, or devices that justify or form the basis for something”.

Some of my accountability sources through life have been my parents, teachers, training teams and coaches. They have laid a solid foundation that has kept me on my own personalized path to a healthy, happy lifestyle.

In construction or renovation, underpinning is the process of strengthening the foundation of an existing building or other structure. Underpinning may be necessary for a variety of reasons.

If you picture your body as a structure you can see how the same things that are helpful to a building can be helpful to you.

1. The original foundation isn't strong or stable enough: Our foundation could always benefit from support. It is not weak to ask for help. It’s one of the strongest things you can do because it brings in consistency and structure.

2. The usage of the structure has changed: A college athlete taking on a desk job or a woman having a baby have had their body’s usage changed and they need to change with it. Having a support or accountability system through these changes is extremely helpful

3. The properties of the soil supporting the foundation may have changed: Losing a parent, spouse or significant other can change your foundation. External, out of your control things have changed your life and this is a good time to have external accountability or support to cheer on your goals, hopes and failures/successes!

4. To increase the depth or load capacity of existing foundations to support the addition of another story to the building: You might be building on in your life; taking on new adventures and responsibilities while still trying to maintain your previous load. You are going to need support if you are expanding and adding an additional story to your building

5. It is more economical, due to land price or otherwise, to work on the present structure's foundation than to build a new one: We don’t get the option of building a new structure when ours isn’t working properly. Your health is an investment that is worth it’s weight in gold!!

6. Earthquake, flood, drought or other natural causes have caused the structure to move, requiring stabilization of foundation soils and/or footings: Real life happens and there is nothing we can do about it! Natural disasters happen causing our structure to move and need stabilization.