Being Accountable

By Thad Plumley

Receiving surprising phone calls relating to your health is not always a good thing, but this one certainly was.

The call came from a company I started working with one year ago. The company helps people trying to
lose weight naturally. The person calling said everyone was thrilled with my results using their program—I’ve lost more than 125 pounds—and asked if she could record my story for materials shared with doctors and patients.

I couldn’t say yes fast enough. The company and my incredibly positive health coach have given me a new outlook for the rest of my life.

I don’t want to delve into the details of what I said but I can sum it up with one word: accountability. The entire program is centered around being accountable to yourself and others.

I step on a scale every morning. The scale is Bluetooth-enabled and records my weight into an app that I use throughout the day. The number flashing on the scale is recorded for me to see as well as my health coach.

I also use the app to record all my meals. The meals are instantly broken down into how many calories each item is as well as its content of sugar, protein, carbohydrates, and more. Again, I see the numbers and so does my health coach.

This means there really is no reason for me to wonder if deep-dish pizza is a smart choice at lunch or if I should have a second heaping of potatoes at dinner. The numbers are right there. I simply need to be accountable to myself.

The health coach and my weekly call with her every Wednesday afternoon are always right there in my mind too. That is built-in accountability to her.

The accountability goes deeper than meals. My health coach has set exercise goals in the app relating to walks, a stationary bike, and more. Knowing a call with her is always coming has helped me find energy to check the goals off each week.

I’ve thought more about what I said since I recorded the testimonial. While my talk focused on my health program and weight, the words apply to many different things in all our lives.

Take our jobs and our relationships with our coworkers, for example. We all owe it to ourselves to be our best at work. My goal every day should be to do something that helps make Water Well Journal one of the best trade publications in the country. I need to hold myself accountable to trying to hit that goal every time I sit down at my desk.

In striving to do so, I also need to think about how that impacts scores of people: the coworkers immediately around me but also all of you, Water Well Journal readers and National Ground Water Association members. I’m accountable to you.

Now, take it a step further. If I hit my goals and an article in WWJ helps you improve your skills, you’re going to be better at your job, your company is going to see more success, and your customers are going to be provided with safe, life-sustaining water.

Talk about wins across the board!

I encourage you to think about accountability to yourself, your coworkers, and your customers. I promise you it can be life-changing.

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Thad Plumley is the editor of WWJ and the director of publications for the National Ground Water Association. He can be reached at tplumley@ngwa.org, or (800) 551-7379, ext. 1594.