It is now more than 1 month into 2023 and many good intentions to exercise more, eat healthier or drink less alcohol have already failed. The reason why good intentions do not work is partly because of motivation or because your plans are not concrete enough. Ask yourself why you want to change something. Everything starts with what you find important and not what is trendy on social media or because others get a “good feeling” from a run. If you do something because it is the right thing to do or because you compare yourself to others, maintaining a good intention becomes much more difficult.
How will you manage?
Make your goal concrete
In addition to your motivation, it is also important that you have a plan. To achieve a goal it is important that you have a plan. If your goal is to become “fitter”, then that is of course a great goal. Try to make it clear to yourself how you are going to achieve that goal, what exactly you are going to do and how often you are going to exercise or exercise. Ultimately, you can also set a very concrete goal for getting fitter, such as running 5km within 30 minutes.
Make it feasible and realistic
If your ultimate goal is to run 10km, it is good to divide this goal into smaller steps. You divide your objective into sub-objectives, as it were. For example, by first setting a goal of 2.5 km running, the goal will be easier to achieve and maintain. This way you can also celebrate achieved goals and reward yourself for this. And when you have achieved a goal, you feel more motivated to set a new goal.
Dealing with setbacks
The road to achieving an objective is rarely or never without obstacles. The question, however, is how you deal with these setbacks. Do you immediately let yourself be knocked out of the way or do you accept that things are going less well for a while and then pick yourself up again. It can help to think in advance about how you can deal with these obstacles.
Prepare for obstacles and make an if-then plan. “An if-then plan goes like this: 'If I (fill in your obstacle, for example: If I am tired in the evening and no longer feel like exercising), then (fill in your intention, for example: 'I will call a friend to go for a walk').” This way you will not be faced with any surprises and you will have agreements with yourself about how to deal with setbacks.
You don't have to do it alone
Are you not that motivated to exercise twice every week from now on? Or to pay more attention to your diet? Then do it together! If you decide to exercise together with a friend, it will be more motivating than if you always have to go out alone.
A good option is to work with a coach from Enforce. A coach can guide you in setting goals and making a plan and coach you in achieving your objectives.
Will you be one of those 20% who keeps their good intentions?
Claudine van Vlimmeren
Enforce Master Trainer
claudine@enforce.nl
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