I’ll start training tomorrow, after holidays, on Monday, on the 1st day of the month, or even better on 1st January… the list goes on and on. Sounds familiar? How many times have you said that to yourself, how many times have you made that promise and then done nothing about it? Regardless of what that was in relation to – losing weight, toning your body, going for a run, the list goes on and on…
Well, you are not alone; most people keep procrastinating regardless of how much they really want to do something.
If you want to move forward with your healthy lifestyle you need to understand why you are stuck in the first place. Awareness is the key to success, as once you know why, you can do something about it.
I believe there are 6 big reasons why you keep procrastinating with your fitness goals and what you can do about it:
Reason 1: You are not clear of what you want
You don’t know what your goal is…I know what you are thinking “Come on, off course I know what I want”. Really? Goals that lack clarity and specificity are just wishes. “I want to lose weight” is not a goal, but “I want to lose 5 pounds by the end of this month” is the one I’m talking about. If you haven’t set a clear destination, it will be difficult to get there. Think about driving a car, if you set up your sat nav with the exact address, you will most likely get there, but if you are not sure of where to go, you won’t. So, are you clear on what you want, is it specific, is it measurable, is it time framed, how would you know you have achieved that? If you haven’t set a clear destination, don’t be surprised if you can’t seem to get any momentum.
Reason 2: You haven’t identified your WHY
Motivation matters. This is the most important part of the process. You need to answer the question: “WHY do you want to do this, accomplish this”. Let’s take weight loss as an example: “WHY do you want to lose weight”? It needs to be YOUR reason, not your partner, family or ‘because I should.’ Dig deep, what’s in your core, why you want that? No one is lifting metal in the gym or running miles on treadmill sweating, just because they like it. Everyone has its own reason, emotional reason – some want to show off their beach body during holidays, others want to prepare for a big day with people or relatives they haven’t seen for a while (and see their reaction “OMG look at her…WOW”), some want to be attractive to the opposite sex, others want to prepare for a marathon or triathlon, some want to be healthy for their family and others just got the warning from their doctor that if they don’t change their lifestyle, they will end up in serious troubles.
So, take a deep breath, have some thinking time, and find YOUR WHY. The more emotional, the better.
THE BIGGER THE WHY THE EASIER THE HOW
Your WHY will keep you disciplined and help you stay on track when you don’t feel like it. Reconnecting with your WHY will always help.
Reason 3: You don’t focus on what you want
Oftentimes you focus on what you don’t want to. Ask anyone what they want, and 9 times out of 10 they will tell you what they don’t want to.
Where focus goes energy flows…You become what you think about most of the time, so it’s extremely important what you concentrate your thoughts on.
THINK OF WHAT YOU WANT RATHER THAN WHAT YOU DON’T WANT
When you find your Why – focus on positives – like in our weight loss example: think about your dream body, perfect health, how you will look like, and you will feel when you accomplish what you want. Do not think ‘I have to lose weight or I have to quit smoking’ as then your focus goes to ‘have to,’ ‘lose weight’ and ‘smoking.’ It’s not exciting, and it won’t keep you going.
Reason 4: You haven’t chunked the goal down to bite-size pieces
Goals are big things and people often get stuck focusing on the enormity of it. Often, just thinking about your massive goal makes you feel overwhelmed, and you don’t know where to start. Instead, focus on the few smaller steps that you’ll need to get there.
If you want to lose 10 pounds, you first need to lose 1 pound, right? If you want to run a marathon and you’ve never run before – 15 min jog will be an achievement for you.
Goals need to challenge you but the steps towards getting to your goals should not. The next step should always be inside your comfort zone or require little or no courage to do so. Otherwise you won’t start.
Reason 5: You haven’t scheduled the time to do so
We are all busy, often life gets in a way and things that you have planned are not done. Distractions are the big ones here. Setting up the time for doing what’s important for you is important. Mark it in your calendar as you mark your other things – check up with your doctor, business presentation, Spanish lesson, etc.
WHAT GETS SCHEDULED GETS DONE
Be realistic, don’t plan to do 10 big tasks in a day. It won’t be done and it will make you stressed. Focus on max 3 main tasks per day and eliminate, automate, delegate everything else.
Reason 6: You haven’t set up any accountability
Accountability, after your Why, is the second primary ingredient for goal success. You need someone who will hold you accountable and keep you on track. Someone who would not support your excuses, who would not let you give up. Someone who is going to remind you why you have started this journey in the first place and why getting through the finish line will be worth it. It can be your partner, your friend, even a stranger you pair up with via certain community. Making a public declaration to your friends or writing a post in a specific group is also a good way to start the ball rolling for you.
So, what have you been procrastinating on recently?
What are you still procrastinating on?
Maybe it’s time to change it once and for all.
Go through the steps above and get what you want.
You only have one life. Go and reach your goals. Good luck !
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