Earlier last week, my girlfriend decided to take a road trip to Vermont to visit her cousin for a few days. Now, as many of you already know, we moved in together a few short months ago, and in the time since, we’ve both come to a mutual understanding of who does what around the apartment. For her part, Lisa generally cooks dinner every night and in addition to that, does the bulk of the laundry. As for me, well, since Lisa cooks every night, it’s only fair that I wash the dishes (and sometimes even put them away….I’m still working on that part). Additionally, I take out the garbage, as well as the recycling, and also play the role of mouse killer from time to time.
For the record, since we’ve moved into our apartment: Tony: 3, Mice: 0. WINNING!!!!
So, being the walking around in my underwear with all the windows open, burping out loud, farting underneath the covers, Sports Center watching male that I am, you can imagine my thought process when Lisa mentioned to me in passing that she was going away for a few days.
YES!!!! I don’t have to put the cap back on the toothpaste or replace the toilet paper when it runs out. Go shorty, it’s your birthday. We’re gonna party, like it’s your birthday!!!
[Cue Carlton dance……]
Okay, that’s not exactly what happened, but I’d be lying if it didn’t enter my mind. You see, there’s this thing called accountability, and it’s a bitch sometimes.
Keeping promises, paying attention to what matters, and holding yourself accountable is a trait that’s often thrown to the wayside in today’s society.
“It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.“- Moliere
Taking the above quote, and using myself as an obvious example, I could have just as easily NOT made the bed while Lisa was away; nor do my part and clean the dishes in the sink; or hang up the wet towels for that matter. For all intents and purposes I could have just said “to hell with it,” and not even bother doing any of my chores. And by “chores,” what I really mean is stuff I should be doing anyways.
But, then what would have happened? Lisa would have come home to this:
And it would have been www.tonyisdefinitelyinthedoghouse.com all over the place.
I bring all of this up because I see much of the same mentality when it comes to people and their fitness and nutrition goals. How many times have we heard of a friend, colleague, or family member vow to start eating a more nutritious and healthy diet, only to buckle three days later as soon as someone invites them to Happy Hour or shows up with a batch of cupcakes?
Likewise, we all know that as human beings, we like to do what’s easy and what we’re good at. Which is to say, why most (not all) trainees tend to opt for the leg press rather than the squat rack; why we’d rather do a few extra sets of bicep curls than deadlifts; or why most tend to gravitate towards the elliptical machine over that “keep the puke bucket ready” metabolic circuit that their program they’re following actually calls for.
It all comes down to accountability. Are you actually going to hold yourself accountable and stick with your diet or exercise plan all the way through, with 100% effort; or are you going to be one of the sheeple who falters and takes the easy route? Either you’re going to clean the dishes or you’re not. Which person are you going to be?
