Accountability

5 October 2023

This is what accountability looks like. There is no way, this time, I would have completed ‘40 days of Celery Juice’ had I not committed to reporting daily to my sister.

Perhaps I am only speaking for myself, but this step (the daily picture) was crucial to our success. Reason being: Along the way there were SO many reasons to pull out or quit!

At the end of August, I announced that my sister and I were drinking celery juice for 40 days. I hopped on her bandwagon. You can read the blog post here:

It sounds trivial - why make such a big thing about drinking celery juice for 40 days? But therein lies the crux. We constantly make promises to ourselves; only to be broken. Breaking promises to ourselves erodes our confidence and self-trust. So start making promises to yourself that you intend keeping and set yourself up for success.

Each day, my sister and I would send a picture to each other of the juice that we drank that day. Each morning as my phone pinged, I’d get straight to my juicing, if I hadn’t already.

I know I would have quitted had we not done this together, because:

• I didn’t realise that celery was going to be gnarly and bitter during the month of September (we’ve had a long cold winter - celery doesn’t flourish in this climate)

• It was often difficult to find. The shops, on many occasions, didn’t have stock of celery. Sometimes, I’d have to go to more than one shop to find it.

• It takes time to wash and juice celery every morning. Who has time?

• Who wants to have cold celery juice first thing on a cold winter’s morning? (coffee please!)

• I kept telling myself that it wasn’t a good time to be doing this challenge. I wasn’t feeling the benefit.

Had I been doing this on my own, each of these reasons would have been enough for me to quit. I was slightly fragile in my commitment upfront and I knew I needed support. There are times when I’ve set goals for myself and I’m fully committed. But, if you have even 1% doubt in yourself, find a buddy or find a way that will hold you 100% accountible and committed.

At the end of the day, sometimes we benefit from a goal or challenge in a way that we least expect. In this case, the benefit was more emotional and psychological than physical. We did it; despite wanting to quit. That feeling of accomplishment is a reward in itself. And who knew that celery juice could be bonding! I’ll be drinking more celery juice in time. When my mind is right. But next time, I’ll also make sure that the celery is abundant, fat and juicy. The benefit will be more physical. I want to feel its vibrant energy.