Accountability Mirror
In a way, I had to start all over again. And remember that starting feels like the hardest part.
It’s been almost three months since my last post. The past nine months were a blur of wins, losses, and lessons. After it all came to a head, I decided to ease off the gas and indulge myself in a well-deserved off-season. I kept working hard and holding myself to my standards, but I wasn’t pushing.
I got comfortable.
And that’s the tricky part: comfort doesn’t feel like failure, but it slowly chips away at momentum. You look up one day and realise you’ve stopped climbing. I know I’m not alone here. We all go through this cycle of intense effort, pause, and then the quiet struggle to restart. To pick up the pace again. To get back into swing.
That’s where the accountability mirror came in. It was in David Goggins’ Can’t Hurt Me that I first learned about this tool, and unlike most advice that fades with time, this one only gets sharper the more you use it.
Mirrors don’t lie. But we often do.
What is it?
The accountability mirror is exactly what it sounds like: you, standing in front of a mirror, facing yourself with no filters, no excuses, no lies. Without accountability, we get too comfortable which may lead to decrease in performance and a lack of motivation.
It’s about getting brutally honest about where you are, where you’re falling short, and what needs to change.
It can get uncomfortable. Staring at yourself and calling yourself out isn’t easy. But that’s the point... It forces you to confront the gap between who you say you are and how you actually live.
It’s not about shaming yourself or tearing yourself down. It’s about stripping away the stories, the justifications, and the “I’ll start tomorrow” excuses. It is about saying out loud what you already know inside: You’ve gotten comfortable. And if you want to grow again, it’s time to step up.
That’s the raw power of the accountability mirror. It’s not motivational fluff. It’s a practice of radical honesty - and honesty has a way of cutting through the noise and waking you up AKA reality check.
The Tool in Action
Over the years, I’ve had some of the most important conversations of my life standing in front of that mirror. The small talks. The big talks. The rough talks. Each time, I walked away with something constructive. There’s something almost magical about openly admitting your mistakes and then genuinely seeking a solution. There’s solid scientific research that supports what you feel when you admit the truth out loud - whether it’s in the mirror, on paper, or to someone else.
Psychologist James Pennebaker’s work on expressive writing shows that openly acknowledging stressful or emotional experiences can lead to real psychological and physical benefits. His studies found that people who wrote about their thoughts and feelings - 15 to 20 minutes over several days - experienced improved immune function, fewer visits to the doctor, better mood, and enhanced psychological well-being over time. This kind of honest, reflective admission isn’t just cathartic - it activates clarity and cognitive coherence, which gives you the clarity and energy to act. The accountability mirror works for the same reason: it moves vague emotions into tangible, actionable truth, and that’s when real change begins.
The tone is the key.
It’s not about beating yourself down… It’s about being raw and real. The only way we can change is by telling ourselves the truth. That way, admitting mistakes externally (in a mirror, in writing, or to another person) shifts them from vague guilt into concrete reality, which the brain is better equipped to act on.
Sometimes, my mirror talk is as simple as:
You’re capable of more. You’ve been here before. Start again.
For Goggins, it was sticky notes plastered all over the mirror - tasks, reminders, hard truths, next goals. For you, it might look different. Maybe it’s a daily question you ask yourself. Maybe it’s writing one thing you’re avoiding and sticking it where you’ll see it.
The format doesn’t matter. The honesty does.
It’s not about hating yourself. It’s about owning the truth so you can take the first step forward. Every bit of negativity we feel deep down is just our internal compass telling us something needs to change.
The accountability mirror takes that feeling and turns it into action.
Your Challenge
The mirror doesn’t just call you out on your excuses - it also reflects back your wins.
Some of my most honest moments have been looking at myself and admitting:
You’ve come far. You’ve built something real. You should be proud.
That’s the other side of the accountability mirror: positive self-talk, acknowledgement of growth, and open admittance of what you’ve achieved. But when you’re stuck, don’t wait for motivation to magically show up. Go to the mirror. Get honest. Give yourself the truth, and then act on it.
Here’s your challenge:
Today, stand in front of your own mirror.
Write down one uncomfortable truth you’ve been avoiding.
And right next to it, write one action you’ll take to address it.
Stick it where you’ll see it.
Face it every day.
Then, follow through.
It doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be real.
Because the accountability mirror only works if you’re willing to work with it.
Keep going.
