Good morning! I hope your day is off to a great start.
For most of us, this is a busy time of year. Last-minute shopping, holiday baking, and those clandestine late-night missions to wrap gifts. Normally, telling my wife to stay out of the kitchen would be met with a resounding, “You got it!” But let me set a gift on the table and reach for a roll of wrapping paper, and it’s, “Who’s that for?” Damn.
Okay, if you truly believe I’ve wrapped a single gift so far, you don’t know me at all. It’s not even Christmas Eve! I’ll get to it. Of course, the wrapping job and amount of tape is a direct reflection on how much eggnog I’ve consumed to that point. I’ve never been great at wrapping, and when it comes to ribbon & bows, you might as well ask me to do a French braid.
For the record, I have no idea what a French braid is, but it sounds pretty complicated. All the more reason my granddaughter won’t let me practice on her hair. Odds are it would end up in a knot that won’t come out without scissors. And, since the last time I cut my wife’s hair, I have been expressly forbidden to attempt such a thing again.
Okay, a little back story. At some point in the early 1980s, my wife wanted her hair shortened up a bit and asked if I could do it. Women’s haircuts were always more expensive, and money was tight. So, I picked up the scissors and went to work. It turned out beautifully. My mom even told me I’d missed my calling. Granted, it took two hours, but I was proud.
So, a few months later I tried again. Well, have you ever heard the term “beginner’s luck?” Yeah. Let’s just say that’s a very real phenomenon. Kinda like the first time I landed a small plane. But that second time can really put you in your place. Her hair ended up so short it took a year to grow back out, and no two strands were trimmed to the same length.
So, I don’t cut hair anymore. And, for the most part, I don’t wrap gifts. My youngest daughter usually does it for me. She’s a little, shall we say … rigid … when it comes to that. Okay, she’s a perfectionist. And that’s okay, because she lives up to the name. All I have to do is put a finger on the ribbon as she ties the bow. I can do that with my eyes closed!
But you know, there are things we do well and other things we’re better off leaving to somebody else. I cook pretty well, but my wife runs circles around me when it comes to baking. She can cross-stitch, and I can build a frame. I can fix cars, and she can tell me every little noise it makes afterward. I can mutter under my breath when she does, and she can hear every word.
That’s why we make such a good team. What one can’t do, the other can. We both know that, which is why we don’t make too many excuses. She can say “BS” just as easily as I can. And that’s okay. Sometimes we all need an accountability partner to keep us in line. Somebody who knows just enough about what we’re doing to call us out when we do it wrong or not at all.
That’s something my business mentors are always preaching – get an accountability partner. If you never share your dreams and don’t tell anybody your goals, then nobody can call you out when you don’t achieve any of them. Here’s a little tip … if you want to lose weight, don’t tell anybody who can see every morsel of food you put in your mouth.
On the other hand, if you’re serious about losing weight, then sharing that goal is one of the best things you can do. The same is true of just about anything worthwhile. My business isn’t one that runs itself (go figure). I have to actually do certain things to keep it running and help it grow. But without an accountability partner, it’s easy to get lazy.
Whatever it is you’re trying to do, success is a lot more likely if you have somebody watching over your shoulder. And maybe that somebody can be you. If so, you’re one of the fortunate few. The rest of us need somebody else. Somebody we trust, who’s empowered to say something when we slack off. And preferably, somebody with a vested interest in our success.
How we got from wrapping gifts to accountability partners is beyond me, but that’s how my brain works some days. The point is, set goals and then share them with somebody who will help keep you on track. It may not guarantee success, but it’ll certainly improve your odds.
That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!
© 2020 Dave Glardon – All rights reserved
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