🧠 Weekly Mind Sweep #141 | Manage Your Mind | Accountability

September 17, 2024 Jamie Chapman

🎬 Rather watch or listen instead of read? Now you can!

In the MindSweep this week:

Manage Your Mind, Accountability with curated GIF’s & puns (for your entertainment).
What’s I’m Reading - new for September!
Collaborations with Terri Hamilton (Thursday) & Shannon Giordano (October; Register today)
My face 💜 and a link to schedule your free consultation.

In my research on the neuroscience of Accountability, I've uncovered that taking "Responsibility is a social phenomenon, not a neuroscientific one." [1]

When we wake up in the morning and shift our focus from our personal life to our professional life, we take the same brain with us to do our work.

As entrepreneurs, we often work on our businesses alone while simultaneously wearing several hats of responsibility. Yet we've come from a life of past experiences where the roles of "boss or teacher" and "employee or student" were clearly defined—our goals and expectations set by someone other than ourselves.

We’ve been programmed to be accountable to others before we are responsible to ourselves.

We logically know we should put the proverbial mask on ourselves before helping others, yet it's not our automatic response to do so.

Accountability doesn't mean being weighed down by societal expectations—it's an opportunity to take ownership of our growth. It's a powerful tool for achieving what we want. Instead of thinking of Accountability as something to avoid, we can reframe it as a path to the future we desire and, more importantly, do it on our own terms.

Taking responsibility relates to the personal Accountability we must take to accomplish the tasks required to reach our goals in life and business.

Each day, we are called to make "in-the-moment" business decisions, such as "What task do I work on next?" These in-the-moment decisions operate from our Default Mode Network, a place full of conscious and unconscious behavior wired from past experiences and habits to determine what is next.

Our mind quickly navigates information to do its job: keep us safe.

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Remember to sprinkle on a little conscious and unconscious Bias, and do we even have free will? (We won't take on the discussion of free will today. Maybe someday, highly unlikely, ok, but never say never.)

When considering what to work on next, you may face a task that you quickly "avoid" because it's uncomfortable and, well, less desirable.

Allow me to indulge in an example you may or may not relate to.

#SafeSpace #NoJudgment #YouAreNotAlone

The next checklist item in your handy-dandy purple sparkle notebook looks like this:

[] Reconcile bank statement from August…2021 👀

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Your DMN and unconscious mind shiver at the mere thought of tackling THAT! Run like your life depends on it; it's not safe here!

You quickly pass over said task and move on to the next item on your list.

[] Dream up a new idea for fall offering.

Zing!

You're deep down a research hole of dopamine-inducing behavior, and OH - EM - GE, this will be the best offer the world has ever seen! I'm totally going to need a new sales page for this. Ugh, I'm not a good writer. No one wants to read what I have to say. Oooh, let's design a whole new graphic on Canva that I can put on social media. Did you know there are thousands of reels on Instagram about dogs? Wait, is it time for me to start dinner? Already?

Who we are as humans is who we are as business owners.

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When we are outside of these in-the-moment situations, we have time to reflect on who we want to be and how we want to show up and begin to build habits that we want to integrate with our DMN.

Yes, Accountability can be uncomfortable, especially when we face tasks that remind us of past failures.

But that discomfort is also a sign that we're growing. Every time we step into Accountability, we become a more incredible version of ourselves, pushing past the familiar and embracing growth.

From our Curated Conversations discussion, we've shared sentiments around trust and self-trust and even deeper emotions around shame and guilt. When I think about these topics, I can't help but return to the idea that we have neuroplasticity and can rewire these neural pathways.

(What can I say? My love for the brain runs deep!)

We can reframe the shameful perception of Accountability into one of growth.

Thanks to neuroplasticity, our brains have the remarkable ability to form new pathways. This means that every time you approach Accountability with intention—no matter how daunting the task—you're not just completing an item on your checklist but actively reshaping your brain!

Each decision to follow through is an opportunity to rewire your mind to associate Accountability with growth, progress, and even success.

Rewiring your brain and choosing new outcomes for yourself and your business begin their journey from the same place:

First, there is awareness. "I no longer want this outcome."
Then, there is acceptance. "I've made choices that have led to this outcome."
Following acceptance is a choice. "I understand my choices may have been the reason for the outcome."
The last is to take action. "I can make new choices to be part of the solution."

Simple, not easy.

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Each step can come with its own gut punch of Reality. We can not do better until we are aware that we know better. We can train our Default Mode Network in small ways each day to improve the outcomes we want to see.

Accountability is not about self-judgment but rather about building trust with yourself.

Each time you hold yourself accountable, you're showing that you can follow through. This creates a positive feedback loop, where Accountability strengthens self-trust and compassion.

And remember, we're all in this together. We're better when we have support!

My question for you this week :

What tasks do you find yourself avoiding, and how could reframing accountability help you tackle them?

Reply and share with me!

The answers you need for your business are already within you. If you’d like support in identifying them and building a business you are proud of, I’m here to help.

Let’s discuss ways I can support accountability for you and your business.