Accountability Challenge

Don't think that I've forgotten about this. When I came back to the site today I had four saved drafts that I had to delete because they were no longer relevant to my life or what I wanted to say. I haven't forgotten per say, but I have absolutely neglected this page. There have been so many times where I got excited to write something or I had a bad day and this would have been a fantastic outlet to utilize, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it...I didn't have the ability to bring myself to engage in this endeavor. I didn't hold myself accountable.
I'm not sure about you reader, but throughout my adult life I have struggled with this issues of accountability. Whether it be starting an exercise regimen, eating healthy, staying in touch with friends. I'm usually on top of everything for a month or two...and then I slip up. Something happens that keeps me from accomplishing what I've told myself that I'm going to do. In turn that makes it so much easier to say "No" or talk myself out of it again and again until I'm so far off track that the goal I set seems like a distant memory rather than something attainable. 
Why is it that I let myself down so easily? Why do I allow myself to give up? Why does the little voice in my head convincing me I'm too tired, not good enough, not worth it win? Why CAN'T I be good enough?
I've struggled with this issue time and time again. You see this motivation thing is a vicious cycle and game that I play with myself. No matter how many times I give up, I eventually get to a point where I pull myself up by my bootstraps and say, "you're done throwing a pity party for yourself. If you want there to be changes in your life you have to make them." Subsequently, after being on track for a while, the doubt seed is planted in my head and I eventually tell myself a different story that keeps me from achieving what I've set out to do. 
The question I've been asking myself lately is, why do I allow myself to fail? To be honest, there is no simple answer I can come up with. There is no magic potion I can drink, no fairy godmother to come Grant my wishes. However, maybe the question shouldn't be how do I stop myself from failing, but how do I make sure I succeed . By a simple rephrasing of the question, my mindset immediately spins with the buzz of possibilities. 
If you look at the most successful people in the world and study their lifestyles there are a few things that you are sure to notice. 1. They are consistent. 2. They have developed a set of healthy habits which they adhere to every day. 
Knowing this, I wanted to create a challenge for myself to be accountable, develop healthy habits, and to give me a baseline of positivity before I tackle any of the long term goals that I have in mind for myself. Starting tomorrow, Sunday April 14th 2019, I will challenge myself to a series of tasks to assist I  building a foundation of health and commitment. I have a white board that I will be turning into a checklist so that each day I can mark off tasks as I complete them. Some of the tasks I have selected may seem mundane and simple, but my goal at the moment is to just build that layer of accountability. 
Jordan's daily tasks for accountability:
1. Brush my teeth 2x/day and floss 1x/day
2. Wash my face 2x/day
3. Verbalize 10 positive affirmations
4. Make my bed
5. Engage in a minimum of 10 minutes of stretching
6. Engage in a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity (outside of work)
7. Reach out to at least 1 friend/person
8. Read at least 10 pages in a book
9. Drink at least 3 water bottles (I have a 32 oz water bottle)
10. Be off my phone after 9:30 PM
11. Blog once a week
As you can see, I'm not trying to do anything extraordinary. Afterall, Rome wasn't built in a day. I believe that these are all highly attainable things to accomplish in a day and a good place to start. I will have a spot on my board that allows me to write in the number of days in a row that I've accomplished my goals and report back to you on my level of accomplishment in 1-2 months. 
It feels great to be back and I hope that you reader haven't given up on me yet! As always I'm going to ask that you make someone smile today and challenge/ask you to think about your own routines and what you might be able to positively contribute to your lifestyle. Until next time,

-Jordan