FITNESS Motivation gone already?

OLD HABITS New year’s resolutions can easily go by the wayside

Motivation gone already?


Personal Trainer
Paul O'Brien

A month has almost passed since the turn of the New Year. Like many, you may have started 2013 with the best of intentions. Perhaps you even wrote your goals out, set dates on them and started taking action to achieve them?
If you are still on track, well done! Research indicates that you are in the minority. Over 70 per cent of people have, by this point, given up on their resolutions and are now berating themselves and wondering where it all went wrong (again!).
So why does this happen? Why do the things we say we really want to achieve in our lives always seem the most elusive and most difficult? Why can you never get to where you want to go? Before we question ourselves into a spiral of despair, let’s take a look at some of reasons.
If any of these resound with you, use the suggested fixes to recharge your enthusiasm and motivation.

No goals
You had an idea of what you wanted to achieve but didn’t commit anything to paper. Your goal remained a fuzzy desire in your head and was never fleshed out.

The fix
Write out your goals. Make sure it is very specific and that it can be measured. Set time limits on it. Have a list of daily actions that you can take to move you toward the goal over the months ahead, and that it is realistic.

No action
You have written you goals but have forgotten to adhere to the most important aspect of the goal-achievement process – action!

The fix
A lot of goals fail because its realisation lies too far in the future without any clear plan to reach this point. Write out a list of all the things that you will need to do in order to achieve your goal. Then write these in your diary as daily actions, with each action taking you a step closer to your goal.

Exhausted will power
You have dragged yourself up from the couch once too often and have now hit the ‘can’t be bothered’ stage. Your motivation is at low ebb, and your goal is slipping away.

The fix
Unfortunately, we do not have endless reserves of will power. Will power is much more like a muscle – it will become exhausted with overuse. You need to be able to call upon much more than this. The answer is support. Enlist a training partner, join a class, hire a trainer or coach or simply ask someone close to you to support you in achieving your goal and come up with novel ways of making this happen together.

Routine
Like will-power, repeating the same routine ad nauseam will only lead to burnout. Very few people can stick with a single exercise regime for long periods.

The fix
Spice it up by adding variety to your routine. Perhaps try a new workout or sport every week for the next couple of months or revisit an activity you enjoyed as a child. Play!

Paul O’Brien is a personal trainer and life coach based in Westport.