I recently finished a book that I had started and stopped over the last several months called Mojo:  How to Get it, How to Keep it, How to Get it Back if you Lose it by Marshall Goldsmith.  Goldsmith is a UCLA PhD in Organizational Behavior who is a consultant to some of the country’s leading executives who get off track.

Often, most of the time, he says, the problems that keep people from achieving success are interpersonal bad habits.  The book was a fun and easy read with so many jewels about living and leading well.

Goldsmith is not a Christian, but his insights concur very often with biblical wisdom.  You can learn more about the book at this link.

The reason I’m mentioning it is that Goldsmith cites his own personal regimen for personal accountability.  He calls a friend every day who asks him 25 questions.  I thought they provide a useful path for anyone wanting to hold themselves accountable.  During the last series on the 7 Deadly Sins at our church called “Break the Cycle”, the need for accountability to break the grip of habitual sin in our lives was highlighted, and that’s essentially what Goldsmith is doing in his list.  He found that as he left the practice of daily accountability, his health and his family relationships sank, so he returned to this practice.

Here are the questions:

1. How happy were you today? (1-10)
2. How meaningful was your day? (1-10)
3. How well did you plan and execute your day? (1-10)
4. How many minutes did you on spend meditation or positive thinking?
5. How many minutes did you spend on things that you cannot control?
6. How many minutes did you spend watching TV or ‘internet surfing’?
7. How many angry or destructive comments did you make?
8. How many times did you unnecessarily try to ‘prove you were right’?
9. How many of your coaching clients are up to date?
10. How many hours did you sleep?
11. How many minutes did you spend walking?
12. How many sit-ups did you do?
13. How many push-ups did you do?
14. Did you do your strength exercises?
15. Did you take your vitamin – aspirin?
16. How much do you weigh today?
17. Are you current on your physical, dental check-ups?
18. Did you pick up after yourself (for Lyda)?
19. Did you say something or do something nice for Lyda?
20. For Kelly?
21. For Bryan?
22. How many high-fat or sweet foods did you eat?
23. How many drinks did you have?
24. How many times did you floss?
25. How many minutes did you spend writing?

Well, that’s all for now.  I hope you’re involving yourself in some kind of life-giving, health-promoting accountability!