Darafunmi Olanrewaju
January is a month for making goals and having high expectations. Most likely, you have set a fitness goal or health goal for 2020. You have probably registered at a gym, you are ready to take on the year.
How long does that enthusiasm last? By the third week of January, the “new year” is already old, and it’s back to business as usual. All the stress and pressure of the previous year are back and the freshness of the new year has disappeared.
How do you remain motivated and on top of your goals then? It is easy to slip back to bad habits and give up on the expectations of the new year. So whether they are fitness goals or life goals, we have a few tips on how you can stay committed to your goals this year.
1. Have a partner
Having a support system in the form of a partner is important. Whether it’s a fitness partner or an accountability partner, having someone in your corner encouraging you cannot be overemphasized. Definitely you would have to keep your motivation up by yourself, but there are times when having outside support to pull you up is what you need. A partner should be somebody that you are comfortable with, that supports you and that you can count on.
2. Keep records
This is especially important in your fitness journey to see how far you have come. Sometimes, the biggest motivation is results. When you see what you have achieved, it encourages you to keep up your efforts. This is also applicable for other goals you may have. Keep records of your achievements and even your failure, so that when you do achieve your goals, you can clearly see what you had to overcome to get there.
3. Have achievable goals
Have achievable, measurable goals. You may have one big goal, such as “live a healthy lifestyle” or “lose 50kg”, you should then go further to break that one goal into smaller more achievable goals. If the total goal for the year is to read 50 books, break it down into how many you are reading in a month, how many weekly, and how many pages a day. That’s a good way to keep from getting overwhelmed.
If the breakdown of the “lose 50kg goal” is taking 5,000 steps per day, that’s a measurable goal. And once you’ve done that for a day, you know that you’ve done what you need to do, to achieve your overall goal for that day. Have a big, grand total goal, but also break down that goal into smaller, measurable goals.
4. Go easy on yourself
You have to allow yourself to fail and not meet expectations all the time. You are human. You are allowed to fail. You are allowed to have cheat days. Being too tough on yourself will make it harder when you do fail, because you most likely will, but be patient with yourself. Life rarely goes according to plan. Your body might not drop weight as you were expecting, your applications might not be approved as speedily as you expect, you have to put that into consideration when making your goals. It’s not easy to accommodate failure or setbacks, but they happen. The question is what you do about it. If you’ve mentally prepared yourself for such an occurrence, it’s slightly easier to bounce back.
5. Be consistent
Consistency is the difference between a goal and a wish. Being able to stand up and do what you have to do, to achieve your goal is probably the hardest part of having a goal. You won’t always feel motivated, your muscles may be sore, you might be tired of whatever goals you have, but the ability to do that day’s task, to achieve the goal for that day, that’s what makes the difference. Be consistent, even when you are not seeing results, even when you are tired, be consistent. It’s the total sum of all the efforts you put in that makes your goals come true. You have to want to see your dream come true more than you are tired.
2020 is the year of big dreams and it’s not going to be a walk in the park, but we’re not giving up, not this year. Let’s go make our dreams come true.
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