Zig Ziglar And The Ultimate Resolution Accountability

It's January 6th, time to check in on those new years resolutions. How is it going? If you're already petering out, you may need some external accountability. One of my favorite authors, Gretchen Rubin, established a personality framework to better understand what motivates people to take action. In this framework, called the Four Tendencies, an Obliger is someone who can readily meet the expectations of others but struggles to keep their own resolutions. People seem to dislike the idea of being an Obliger, but it's the easiest tendency to coach because all an Obliger needs is external accountability and they can get most anything done.

Zig the Obliger and the Ultimate Accountability Hack

Zig Ziglar is another favorite of mine. Zig was an accomplished salesman, a motivational speaker, and an author. I don't know for sure that he was an Obliger, however one of his most well known quotes sure does suggest it: "You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." Additionally he came up with one of the boldest and brilliant external accountability hacks I've ever heard. Here's the story.

By the early 1970s Zig had amassed an impressive list of sales accolades and was sharing his motivational messages through speeches to audiences across the country. People responded to his methods, so he wrote a book called See You At The Top to further his goal of helping others. Publishers were not impressed and he was getting rejection letters left and right. Since Zig believed in his book, he personally financed a print run of 25,000 copies to prove to publishers that it would sell. (which it did, was picked up by a publisher, and is still in print today!)

Around the same time, Zig was struggling with an identity and credibility problem. He was telling people that they can be what they want to be but he was not what he wanted to be… he was overweight. 37 pounds overweight to be exact. Zig followed his own advice about goal setting which includes making it meaningful, having the right time limit, and creating a written plan of action that lists both the obstacles to overcome and the resources for support. He did one other incredible thing. He devised significant external accountability with huge implications.

In his book Zig wrote that he weighed 165 lbs. and then printed 25,000 copies using his own money, all while still weighing 202 lbs. Talk about the ultimate resolution accountability! He had 10 months to get there and in his words he achieved the goal "to the pound and to the day". 

I've had trouble researching the costs of book printing in the 1970s but if we guess $1 per book, with inflation considered, that would mean he made a $119,500 bet on himself achieving that goal. Also of note, he was in his mid-40s and had been overweight his whole adult life. It's an incredible and inspiring story.

Other ways to create external accountability 

2020 Workout Goal Tracker

Not everyone has a book to publish or an extra $100K+ hanging around. You can still create external accountability to help you to keep your resolutions, which is particularly important if you are an Obliger, but arguably valuable no matter what your tendency. A few years ago I wanted to read more diverse books, so I joined a book club that specifically included non-fiction and classics as part of the selection criteria. Whenever I want to run more, I register for a race. I’m a big fan of using visual trackers for goals which on their own don’t qualify as external accountability, but I share these on Instagram and post updates on progress. There’s an accountability from the masses in this because every so often someone will ask me how it’s going when they see me. Lastly and most recently I created accountability to my daughter when I told her that if I didn’t finish her handmade Christmas stocking by December 25th, she could choose any condiment from the fridge and I would do a shot of it. Though that one didn’t work out so well… but lucky for me she chose whipped cream. Lucky for her the store-bought stocking worked just fine.

If you’re struggling with your resolutions already, consider ways to create external accountability to keep yourself on track.

Resources:

 Visit Gretchen Rubin’s website to learn more and take a quiz to find out your tendency.