Confusing Accountability with Hope

Change is hard. I bet we can all relate to a habit we’ve been trying to adapt but have successfully failed. For me, that may be attempting to go to bed early and wake up at 6am (it’s only happened once this year haha). But I’m working on it. One thing I’m not doing, however, is being hopeful about a sudden change in sleep schedule. It won’t happen.

In my nonprofit class last year we learned about the theory of change-a method that organizations follow to define long-term goals and the necessary preconditions they need to put in place to achieve them. One important element of theory of change that stuck with me was not to “confuse accountability with hope”. Mm, that’s deep. I’ve been asking myself, what things do I hold myself accountable for? What I’m I hopeful for? In this day and age, I’ve realized that there are wayyyyy too many things we need to hold ourselves accountable rather than be hopeful for. For a given goal, I’ve found it very helpful to make a list of things I should be accountable for in reaching that goal and things I should be hopeful for. The two cannot be mixed.

A classic example perhaps is how we all react to a class/project at the beginning and towards the end. At the beginning, we’re all hoping to nail that class with an A. Heck yeah who doesn’t want that? But as the semester progresses, things get busy. We lose track and then bank our hopes on that curve so save our GPA. But honestly I feel like these situations happen when we forget that things we should be accountable for (like actually studying-not cramming- before exams?) hold more weight to things we’re hopeful for (like a grade curve). I’ve the same feeling with how faith works. I don’t think praying alone solves problems if you don’t put some work into it and hold yourself accountable to your side of the equation. While you pray, put some work into it, too. Accountability is a first step to hope and faith.

While I’m hopeful for many great things this year, I also want recognize the pieces I’m accountable for, and work towards it. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it. If it was easy, everybody will do it. Oh, and while you’re at it, trust the process.

Cheers.