Accountable

A beautiful woman must expect to be more accountable for her steps, than one less attractive
–Samuel Richardson

This quote caught my eye. Samuel Richardson was apparently an English novelist who lived in the 17th-18th centuries. I’ve never heard of him. And I am puzzling over this quote; which is one of the reasons I love Deb’s wednesday word — it makes me think.

This was not at all what I planned to write about when I say accountable was the wednesday word. It makes me wonder, too, if sixteenth century men favored beautiful women.

I find that hard to believe, though: marriages back then were usually about political gain — in the upper classes. In the lower classes, it could be about material gain, a good breeder, or a good worker.

Perhaps the meaning of the quote is that a beautiful woman is more watched, and a less attractive woman can melt into the background. And yet, beauty isn’t just about what’s on the outside; we all know people who may not be what society deems to be beautiful, but they have a confidence, a spirit, that just makes them appear beautiful.

What popped into my head when I saw the word accountable? That if you have a goal, you need to have someone/thing to be accountable to to achieve that goal — even if it’s just yourself. But having someone else to be accountable to usually works better; you’re willing to work harder to please someone else than you are to please yourself, as twisted as that sounds.

That is part of why Weight Watchers works for me. I don’t own a scale; I need the accountability of going to a meeting once a week and weighing in. That isn’t the only reason I go to Weight Watchers, but it is an important one.

I need the accountability of tracking my food. I love the people who don’t need to do that, but for now, for me, I need to do that.

When it comes to running, I am very self motivated. I rarely skip runs, or shorten runs, or have too much trouble getting myself out the door (or on the treadmill). I am prone to procrastinating on starting my run without the accountability of meeting someone for a run; I admit that. Which often leads to not getting the things I planned to get done, done.

I also like being accountable to a plan, whether it’s one I purchased, one I found in a book/magazine, or one I made up on my own.

In which areas of your life do you need to be accountable to someone/thing?