Isn't is crazy how fast this year has gone by? Just the other day I was at the mall looking around at all the decorations like "Why are all these Christmas lights up??? Seriously, they're rolling out Santa Claus and elf decorations already???" Then I thought about it and realized "Wow! We really are at the end of the year!" Christmas and New Years are right around the corner!One thing that I've been doing for the last few years that has worked really well for is to get a "jump start" on my New Years goals. I don't know if it's a leftover habit from years of starting a new school year in the fall but around September every year, I start working on my goals for the following year. That way, when New Years day comes around, I can hit the ground running.One new habit that I've decided to implement before the New Year approaches is a big one -- I've decided to get an accountability partner!The above picture is from the first meeting I had with my accountability partner for this year, Charminae. Since we're both ambitious, go-getting women, we've decided to link up every week to help and hold each other accountable with our goals. Both Char and I have BIG (and scary!) things we're trying to make happen in our business, personal, financial, and even spiritual lives -- things that would be hard to achieve without dedicated support and PUSHING from another person who cares. Here's why:

5 Reasons to Have an Accountability Partner

1. You'll push yourself harder. Let's face it -- you're more likely to cut yourself a break if you have no one to answer to. I can't even count the number of times I went to bed early when I knew I could have worked a little longer, had an extra scoop of ice cream when I knew I was trying to eat healthy, or bought that amazing pair of shoes when I knew I was supposed to be saving money. You know how it goes -- you think of the thing that you should be doing, but before you know it, you've come up with all sorts of reasons for why "it's not that big of a deal" or you "deserve it, just this one time..." We are masters at manipulating and rationalizing ourselves out of what we KNOW we need to do. When you have an accountability partner, you have someone to answer to, which keeps you from slipping back into your old "I'mma just take it easy" ways.2. You'll get more done. I've experienced this and I've only been working with my accountability partner for one week! When you have an accountability partner, you also have a regular deadline, since you have to report back every week (or however often you meet). If you're like most people, you'll want to save face and have all your stuff done by the next time you meet with your accountability partner! There are many things I've done this week alone that I know I probably would have slacked off on if I didn't have someone to answer to every week.3. You'll figure out how bad you want it. This is huge. In the past, I was guilty of setting a lot of goals that just sounded good but actually weren't that important to me. However, I never realized they weren't important to me so I kept beating myself up when I didn't have the motivation to follow through. When you agree to have someone hold you to your word that you'll stick to a goal, you're essentially saying "this goal is very important to me -- I'm committed!" Likewise, if you find that you can't bring yourself to be held accountable for a goal your going after, it's a strong sign that you really don't want it as bad as you say you do.4. You'll build self-discipline. Remember the post I just did on building self-discipline? The number one factor in having strong self-discipline is your ability to keep your promises to yourself. If you can't even trust yourself to do what you'll say you'll do, you'll find it extremely difficult to actually follow through on things. Having an accountability partner is a great way for you to build up your "follow-through" muscles. After so many weeks of consistently following through on what you promised your accountability partner you would, you'll find that it's easier for you to stay self-disciplined on your own.5. You'll be more likely to actually achieve your goal! This is the number one reason to get an accountability partner! Study after study shows that people who are held accountable by supportive people they trust are more likely to accomplish their goals. Beyond just the actual accountability, having another person by your side is great because you can bounce ideas off them and get a different perspective. They can cheer you on when you're feeling defeated and encourage you to look at a problem in a different way when you're stuck.So do you have you an accountability partner for next year? If not, here are three ways to find one:

3 Ways to Find an Accountability Partner

1. Be of service to someone that inspires you. I briefly touched on this in my recent blog post, 5 Unique Ways to Stay Motivated and Inspired Everyday, but getting around inspiring people is HUGE for staying motivated towards your goals. However, when it comes to finding an accountability partner, you need to up-the-ante -- you need to be of service to that inspiring person. In other words, what can you do that will help them? What value can you offer? When you are of service to others, it's only natural that those we help will want to return the favor. Sometimes we get so focused on ourselves and what we need to move our goals forward that we forget to help other people. If you really want to find a great accountability partner this year, find a person that inspires you and blow them away with your helpfulness. Pretty soon, they'll be begging to know how they can help you, to which you can reply, "Well actually, I've been looking for an accountability partner..."2. Do great work that attracts like-minded people. This is how I linked up with my accountability partner, Charminae. As you may remember from some of my past blog posts, I recently got over my fear and hosted my very first Think & Grow Chick event! Charminae came on board to host the event and through our working together, we found out that we shared similar goals and ambition. Because I worked so hard on the event, Charminae actually pulled me to the side one day and told me how impressed she was and asked if we could be accountability partners for 2015. I was blown away because I had been thinking about finding an accountability partner for months but wasn't sure how to find the right one. However, by simply doing the work I was meant to do, my accountability partner ended up finding me! If you don't know how you are going to find a great accountability partner, I encourage you to get out there and do great work. Pretty soon, like-minded people will see what you do and will be drawn to you.3. Join the new Think & Grow Chick Private Community. Didn't expect that one, huh? :-)

Since starting Think & Grow Chick, one of the top frustrations I hear from readers like you is that you don't have a local support system of like-minded, ambitious women to cheer you on. Well, I'm changing that today.To help you make next year the best year you've ever had, I've created a private Facebook group just for Think & Grow Chick readers. However, this is more than just your average Facebook group. Via this new private community, you can expect:

• Weekly goal check-ins where I and everyone else in the group will share their current goals and report on last week's progress
• A biweekly conference call every 2nd and 4th Sunday at 8pm EST, where I will spend 30 minutes sharing my best personal growth and success strategies
• The return of my monthly book club! I will no longer be hosting my book club on goodreads -- instead, I will post a new personal growth-related book every month in the private community for members to discuss.

Oh, and one more thing...The Think & Grow Chick Private Community is completely free! If you want to join, all you have to do is sign-up by entering your information below (P.S. -- If you're already on my email newsletter, no need to sign up. This entire post with the link to join is already in your inbox!). I hope you'll join me in the Think & Grow Chick community so we can make next year an amazing one...together!