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Do you find it easy to do everything you say you'll do?
Or do you find the boundaries around your to-do list to be loosey-goosey and open to interpretation?
It's easier to get things done when someone like an accountability partner checks up on you, but what if you don't have someone like that?
Building up a nice, fat balance in your Self-Trust Bank can help you develop the self-accountability you need to get things done.
What is the Self-Trust Bank?
The Self-Trust Bank is a figurative piggy bank inside you that represents your confidence in your ability to get hard things done.
When you do what you say you'll do, say make a difficult phone call or honor your writing schedule, you make a deposit into your Self-Trust Bank.
The harder that task is, the larger the deposit. Withdrawals from your Self-Trust Bank work the opposite way. When you break a commitment and don't do what you say you'll do, you lose a little confidence in yourself and make a withdrawal from your Self-Trust Bank.
Breaking bigger promises to yourself such as canceling a cold-calling session or not making time to work on your weekly goals so you don't get them done means larger withdrawals.
But little broken promises add up too! Skipping too many things on your to-do list that you think are inconsequential still causes a withdrawal.
Do this often enough and soon your Self-Trust Bank will be bankrupt, making it very difficult for you to do hard things.
Why the Self-Trust Bank Matters
Doing hard, scary things for the first time requires a lot of confidence.
Having a nice, plush Self-Trust Bank that is full of confidence gives you the boost you need to keep repeating your brave moves.
A large balance in your Self-Trust Bank demonstrates that you show up and get things done so there's no reason why you can't do the same again. You feel more confident in your chances of success.
A meager balance because of many withdrawals from broken promises means that you stand a good chance you'll break your promises to yourself again when it comes time to do something difficult.
It's a painful truth, but your confidence keeps score.
Self-Accountability & The Self-Trust Bank
If you work alone, you are the only one keeping tabs on your to do list. It is easy to skip out on your schedule or push things off because you tell yourself that no one will notice.
But you'll notice -- and so will your Self-Trust Bank.
Do yourself a favor and build up the balance in your Self-Trust Bank as much as you can.
Honor the commitments that you make to yourself.
Do this over and over, and soon your Self-Trust Bank will pay you dividends in the confidence you need to make those big goals a reality.
We talk a lot about making deposits in our Self-Trust Bank in the Goal Getters Club. Join us here.
Jen Laffin is an Accountability & Success Mentor for people who like to finish big goals, a master teacher, host of The Flight School Podcast, a possible thinker, and a recovering procrastinator. She helps goal-SETTERS become goal-GETTERS. To learn more, visit www.jenlaffin.com, or find Jen on Linkedin.