Perseverance, you know the quotes…“Winners are not people who never fail, they’re people that never quit” or “If you are going through hell, keep going”
Once you set your exercise targets, complete your workout and eat healthily, it is impossible not to feel the benefits. The payback from healthy living can be felt within a short period of time and it is this payback that should fuel your perseverance to allow you to achieve your long term goals.
So with all that said, why do some people find it so difficult to stick to a fitness regime? Given that the effects are so beneficial, why is it that we find it easy to skip workouts or snack on unhealthy foods? For some people, the fact that their long term goal cannot be attained immediately on completing a hard workout is reason enough. For others, it can be the hassle, of having to add workout sessions, to eat healthily and to sleep more than they currently do.
After you have set your long term goals, what is it within you that takes over and results in you losing focus and willpower? By performing some self reflection and analysis of the real cause of your missing workouts you can figure this out and unlock the route to developing perseverance. Maybe it’s fear of not reaching your goal, setting unrealistic targets or maybe, your routine has become boring? So once you’ve analysed the root cause, how do you beat it? Here are some tips that we find help build that persevering attitude:
- When you start to exercise or eat healthily, set realistic goals. Don’t promise yourself you’re going to work out for an hour every day, and then get deflated when you fall short. Start with goals you can more easily achieve and once they become routine, set new goals…the aim is to keep pushing yourself.
- Always remember what it is that started you exercising. Set personal fitness goals and use them as motivation. Once you reach each goal, congratulate and reward yourself. It’s important to celebrate each goal along the route to your overall goal because healthy living is a journey and not just the destination.
- Find some inspiration whether is a music playlist that you love, a picture of someone you wish you looked like or an inspiring quote. Whatever it is, use it as a tool to keep your mind focused on your goals and let it drive you towards them.
- Choose healthy foods that you enjoy and make sure your workouts include exercise that you like doing. This will ensure that boredom does not become a factor…but if it does, change your routine, try swimming instead of jogging or stand-up paddle boarding instead of cycling…as long as you enjoy it, that’s the goal.
- If you find you’re too tired in the evening to exercise then change your routine to exercise in the morning or vice versa
Ask us to help you develop the habit of perseverance.
“We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.”
