Social Media: My Drill Sergeant

I've always been uncomfortably aware that I am not a very good self-taskmaster. If I'm accountable only to myself, nothing gets done. How many gym memberships have I purchased? How many craft projects have I taken on? How often have I joined Creative Writing classes? How much weight have I lost, how much hot glue do I have in my closet, unopened? How much written material do I have in my portfolio? Let's not go there. I'm just too forgiving of myself. 

Well, possibly, 'forgiving' is the wrong word. ;)

When I asked my BF to start yoga with me, we did it, for the entire duration of two programs! (And we're doing it again when I move back into town) When I asked her to make me email her my food diary every week, I lost weight! And now, it's Twitter and this blog, S&S. In the week since I first started Scribbles & Strikethroughs, (and started tweeting) I've written many thousands of words in a book that hasn't seen any productivity since Autumn.

It puts me in mind of a debate that took over my ethics philosophy course in college. What prevents a person from doing bad? What makes a person do good? The majority of the time, a person will decide against doing something he knows is wrong only when he fears getting caught. So too the person doing right; he will prefer to do so when he knows it will be acknowledged.  

We are each others' checks and balances. This is, of course, old news to anyone who's ever thought about it (sociologists). But social media is new. It's a wider pool of finger-pointers and back-clappers. And let me say, I intend to take advantage of your attention (I'm pretending you're out there reading this!). I hope you will give credit when I do good (write), and take me to task when I do bad (not writing). 

So thank you tweeters, and bloggers, and facebook frienders. Is it so bad to allow oneself to be held accountable to another, at least, until a new habit is firmly established?

No, really, I'm asking....