Staying Motivated....Even In February!
So January has passed along already and so has my need to work off the excesses of Christmas and seriously is it me or does keeping fit seem a lot harder in the winter than in the summer? I have signed up for my first half marathon and it occurred to me what a crazy time of year it is to train for an event like this! My first training session was in the pouring rain and freezing winds and I have had to buy all sorts of running kit to ensure I stay warm and comfortable whilst running the longer distances. In the summer I am happy to run out of the door whatever time of day comfortable in an old t-shirt. So I am having to pull a few motivational tricks and techniques out of the bag to help me stay on track. I thought I would share a few with you in case you are also experiencing some winter mojo freezing...
Did you write it down? It’s an obvious place to start but a much neglected one! Did you know that it was proven in a study of Harvard Graduates that 3% of Harvard MBAs make ten times as much money as the other 97% Combined? The reason is simple: They set clear goals and made plans to reach them. In 1979, interviewers talked to graduates from the Harvard’s MBA Program and found that:
84% had no specific goals at all
13% had goals but they were not committed to paper
3% had clear, written goals and plans to accomplish them
In 1989, the interviewers again talked to the graduates of that class. You can guess the results:
The 13% of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all.
Even more staggering – the three percent who had clear, written goals were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.
What does this have to do with my half marathon training? Or your fitness motivation for that matter? Well apply the same principals to your fitness goals and imagine what might happen? What is it you really want to achieve? How exactly are you going to get there? Write it down, focus on it and see where it takes you! Once you have a clear written goal, how do you make sure you achieve it? Here are my five top tips....
Focus on how... Make a list, right now, go ahead aim for at least 20 things, don’t even think about it just write it down, how are you going to make this happen? What can you do to make sure you achieve your goal?
Keep the goal close Every day (yes every day!) make sure you write down one thing from the list above you will do today to achieve your goal. Re-focussing on it will help you to make sure it happens. If your goal is around being more active and eating more healthily there are easily things you can do every day. Keep the small steps simple, one little thing goes a long way and some days you may even be able to list more than one which will make you feel amazing!
Recognition The key to keeping motivated is recognising your achievements; it’s so easy to overlook small progress so make sure you have some measurements in place. Think about how you will know when you have achieved your goal, what will you see that will let you know you have achieved it? What will you hear that will let you know you have made it happen? What will you feel? Sometimes progress is slow so every time you achieve something – no matter how small make a note of it, you will be surprised how quickly things build up, before you know it you have achieved something every day for a week, a month and then who knew a whole year
Support Sharing your goal is also a great way to keep you on track, tell the world on Facebook or share your goal with a friend you trust, maybe someone who has a similar goal who you can work with. Make sure those around you are helping your progress and not hindering it, do the people you live with support you or do they still bring home naughty treats despite you informing them of your intentions? Think about what you can do to get buy in from those close to you. They will ultimately help you achieve your goal if you let them!
Reward Every step of the way give yourself some reward for your hard work. It can be a great motivator, just as the idea of bearing all by the pool on your summer holiday can be a great motivation to get to work; it can be a great reward too. Give yourself a deadline and plan a celebration of your achievements. Go on you deserve it!
Our aim at Fit In Minutes is to provide you with daily exercise and nutrition solutions, to coach you towards individual success whatever that looks like to you so that you can feel fitter, healthier and know you have a way of fitting exercise into your life.
To book your free consultation click on the link above, call us now on 07973 751190 or email Kirsty@fitinminutes.co.uk. We look forward to helping you be the healthiest woman you can be, one step at a time!
Kirsty x
Fit in mind
Fit in body
Fit in your life
