The secret to beating goal fatigue

10 Mar The secret to beating goal fatigue

So, we all know that sudden mad rush of motivation and certainty when we feel inspired. Most of us also know (from experience) that this inspiration can just as suddenly flip flop out of existence – if you’re sick of this and really want to have your New Beginning…no matter WHAT month it is, you’ll need to answer these THREE questions…

1. Where are you are now?

To finish you have to start right? Well not really, to finish strong, you got to start realistically! Firstly, separate your goal from your emotions and try to be practical. Where are you right now? Without being judgemental, taking stock of the status quo means asking yourself a bunch of questions. Practical things like have you put weight on, if so how much? What kind of exercise do you enjoy these days? List what you might like to upgrade. While you’re at it, are there any chores that can be multitasked? Are you bored of your routine? Let the questions flow and write it down.

2. Where would you LOVE to be?

How this looks to each of us varies – and some of us have more work to do here than others. Sometimes we might have the big ‘life goals’ and sometimes we want to drop a couple of pants sizes and climb the stairs without dying. Think big AND small here. All big pictures are made of a million tiny pixel pictures so once you know how you’d love to feel and/or look or what to accomplish, you can plot the steps you need to take in the form of micro goals.

3. What habits will you need?

A  New Beginning, a goal or lifestyle change all depends on finding the easiest ways to create habits and stay on track. Did you notice the word easy? Easy like Eeaaasssssyyyy pppeeeaaassyy.

It’s not as far away as you think. We all make things happen. For example, you love clean, healthy teeth so brushing twice a day is your regular habit. Boom – you’re already an expert who does a million good things in a day to stay healthy and well. When it comes to a new beginning of any sort,s appropriate habits = success. If you want to start training before work – your new habits might include, getting up early, packing a post workout snack, taking lunch to work, going to bed early.

– it’s no wonder we sometimes gets stuck and just give up!

And how does one STICK to these new habits … for most of us, it’s a combination deal, a little discipline, a positive mindset and knowing what works for YOU. Try these hacks on their own or in conjunction with each other.

1. Work = Reward. Old fashioned as it may be, use something you love as a workout motivation. Try saving your daily coffee as a pre-workout bevy and have a specific series/podcast you like and watch it when doing cardio. This technique will work for you if you like your rewards regular and often – and of course, this is a double winner because the ‘thing’ you chose will start priming you to be in the right headspace for the workout.
2. Start with Teeny Tiny Habits. Step one; start with a Tiny Minimum promise. Step two; find a space in your existing routine to complete it….simple and genius and the brainwork of BJ Fogg, author and founder/director of the Stanford Behaviour Design Lab. His recipe is a simple combination of “AFTER I …(insert regularly performed task here)… I WILL … (insert tiny baby new habit here)….“

Want to start reading books? “AFTER I wake up … I WILL read one sentence” Want to start exercising? “AFTER I go to the toilet I WILL do 2 pushups”. Small changes now = Big changes later. Fact.

1. Schedule in 2 workouts a day. Tiny PT Princess Kayla Itsines recommends this pearl of wisdom and it’s a particularly good idea if you have an unpredictable lifestyle and love shorter workouts. The upside here of course is that you have created TWO opportunities to succeed that day! Yes!!
2. Make your Workouts SMARP. ..and we mean Spirited, Measurable, Appropriate, Regular and Progressing. Approach everything with a highly energised Spirited commitment, make sure you Measure your improvement, be certain that your training is Appropriate to you and your goal, schedule it Regularly and keep pushing for Progress. S.M.A.R.P.
3. You need waaaay more than Will Power. Mr Mark Manson (author of The subtle art of Not giving a fuck) describes how harnessing Will Power alone is a short term fix – one that will lead you down the Shame and Guilt path. Basically the shame, guilt and anxiety about wanting something you are trying to avoid causes us tension to cave in…. and once the binge session is over – we are left with even MORE tension, guilt and anxiety – this time, we have a small serving of failure and regret to lug around.
4. Just Show UP. It sounds cliché, but file away the excuses cos you really only have to put the major effort in until the habit is fully formed. How long does that take? Well – that depends on multiple factors – things like previous experience, access to training the skill, emotional state….etc etc. Know that there will be crappy, lacklustre workouts. It takes time to get places and the bummers are as much a part of the journey as the sweet highs.
5. Knowing WHY helps. Your big why in life might not be immediately clear right now and there is a lot of research about how knowing your ‘why’ will help you achieve. Simon Senek famously brought us his book ‘start with Why’. And for many it was the game changer that got them over the line. Don’t worry, some of us ponder our BIG WHY for years and so what? Until you know the BIG WHY, maybe focus on the many little whys – like feeling happier or setting a good example to the kids.
6. Spicy & Fun to Keep things Fresh. There is such thing as habit fatigue and researcher Caroline Benner at Berkeley University teach us that spicing things up is important when our habits become boring and we want to quit. Best way to do that? FUN. Yep, you heard right, feel bored = have fun!

You can think of a New Beginning as kind of like a small city –one where you can wander aimlessly down Goal Setting Street, Sidle down past ‘They Never Really Last Lane’, whirl down ‘Will-Power Street or set up camp in ‘New Habits-ville’.  Either way, your new goal should make you feel excited and happy. Wanting more for yourself makes you grow and mature. Becoming a manifester in your life will inspire your daily existence of both you and the people around you.