Setting goals is the easy part. Keeping them is the struggle.
With every month of January comes a new-found desire to accomplish something that you haven’t attempted before. As for me, I’ve failed to complete my new year’s resolutions year after year. Usually, I start out strong. Whether it be by breaking a habit, choosing to eat healthier, or exercising more, I always begin with fire under my feet. But, right around now, (the end of January) I either find excuses, get overly-involved in other things, or simply forget to devote the necessary amount of effort and time to the objective I wrote in my journal just weeks prior.
I think every collegiate female can admit to writing down their desired goals at the beginning of a new year. For the majority of January, our Instagram, Twitter, and newer Vsco feeds were chalk full of motivational quotes, athletic advertisements telling us to “start now,” and small invitations to try new products, habits, and lifestyle trends.
That right there, is the flaw in it all: the idea that these objectives are trends. Goal setting can be considered a trend because the act of drawing-out and defining your intentions has definitive starting and ending points. The “New Year’s resolution” idea is a trend too, because it only happens once a year. Habits aren’t habits if they only happen once a year.
The bottom line is that goal keeping cannot be treated as a trend if you wish to be successful in completing it.
I’ve read tons of online articles by other college-age writers that list some goal and objective ideas to get started, and some that have denounced the importance of goal-keeping all together. This is not either of those.
This is how I’m managing to stay motivated over the month towards my own goals; a guide to remaining motivated throughout the entire duration of your process. I’ve broken down my motivational tips into 7 simple questions to ask yourself along the way, and included my own answers to serve as an example.
1. What do you want to do? (How long will it take?)
I want to complete a half-marathon. (It will take fifteen weeks to train).
For starters, it helps to define your goals and how long you think it will take to accomplish them. For example, I want to complete a half-marathon by May 2017, so that gave me the idea to develop a fifteen-week schedule to stay on top of my running and exercise habits.
2. Do you like what you’re doing?
I liked to run in the past. I want to learn to like it again.
In order to get and stay motivated, you must first realize that your goal should be something that you favor, or like to do. In my case, I want to remember what it was like to enjoy running. I really liked running distance in the past, because at that age, I was good at it, and it helped clear my head of my daily stresses.
3. Why are you doing it?
I want to push my athletic boundaries further than before, and appreciate my own potential.
Some goals are for your own personal benefit, and others benefit the well-being of you and all of your peers. For example, say that your goal is to become a more positive and grateful person all around. There are many different things that could be motivating you. Maybe you want to improve your mental health, or create a better atmosphere for you and your friends. Perhaps you’ve recently experienced something traumatic and you’re looking to bounce-back and develop a positive habit for the long-run. Whatever it is you wish to do, remember why you are doing it, and remind yourself when your progress slows down.
4. Where do I track my progress?
I keep a printed work-out schedule on the back of my bedroom door. Here, I can hold myself accountable.
Now depending on the goal, you may or may not post your progress in a public place. I mean this as in a tangible place, like on paper. Maybe your goal is to break a habit.
Let’s use the act of quitting smoking as an example. These goals can be extremely difficult to achieve because you aren’t incorporating anything new into your schedule; you’re deleting something from it. Don’t ever be embarrassed of the difficulty of your process. Nothing worth achieving ever comes easy. Instead of posting up your progress on a wall, you may want to try highlighting a day in your calendar or planner that you have managed to keep away from the habit. This way, you have a silent reminder of your successes, without words that taunt you, reminding you of your guilty pleasure.
5. Will I try today?
I will try every single day.
A professor once told me a story about a neighbor he had that ran in the morning every single day. Despite bad weather, the man would still be out running every morning just as he had the day before.
My professor thought the man was bonkers, until he asked him why he would run in such horrible conditions.
The man replied with something like: I don’t choose to run every morning. One morning I told myself I would run every morning. I only had to make the decision once.
Make your own decision once. It’s less thinking.
6. Who is aware of my progress?
My friends and family know, and I guess everyone reading this article does now, too.
Some people swear by holding themselves publicly accountable. How often do we see family and friends posting weight loss photos in Facebook and Instagram? Those posts receive tons of positive feedback and that is a great source of motivation, but that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Ever realize that the majority of our physically fit role models are famous or have thousands of followers? They have thousands of people judging their bodies every time they post.
Ask yourself who knows what progress you’re making and make a conscious effort to talk about where you are in your plan. Once your goal becomes a habit, the conversations about it will be too.
7. Who’s with me?
My roommate is training with me at school, and my friends from home are training with their families.
Everything is easier said than done when like-minded people surround you. In my case, I convinced my roommate to train for the half-marathon too, and we go to the gym together to train as often as we can. I mentioned my goal to some friends from home as well, and one of her parents even got wind of the race and decided to begin training too! Sometimes, the best motivation is knowing that someone else is experiencing the same thing. It’s a hell of a lot easier for me to push through my last mile on the treadmill when I look over and see my friend physically exhausted too. Alone or with friends, it’s helpful to remember that your aim is not impossible, and that it’s probably been done before.
No matter your goal, remember that it is always achievable with continued motivation. And when you’re lacking motivation, remember that you wouldn’t have begun working at it if you didn’t somehow want it in the first place.