Two weeks have passed since you set your resolutions for the new year. Perhaps you wanted to get in shape, set a PR, or run 13 races in the coming year. Regardless, the excitement has begun to fade, and it looks like your resolution will be fading away with all the rest.
How do you rev up your commitment and find success by December 31st?
1. Be accountable
Tell someone your resolution. Tell lots of people about your resolution. Blog about it, chat it up on Facebook. The next time you sign-in or have dinner with that certain someone, having to tell them you didn’t stick with it may just be enough to keep you going.
2. Enlist help
Support in your endeavors isn’t just about accountability. Friends and relative can keep you company while you log those endless miles for your first marathon. They can give you a shot from the finish line for your first 5k.
3. Create smaller resolutions
Don’t focus too much on the end goal, its distance and size can easily overwhelm. Instead, divide your resolution into easy to measure mini-goals. Just as many runners run only each leg of a race from one tree to the next, one stop sign to the next, your resolutions should be one day at a time.
4. Celebrate progress
If you wait to celebrate at completion, it is likely you will be waiting a long time and may just give up before you reach the end. Instead, celebrate the success of each mini-goal to keep motivated for the next step.
This year, don’t let your resolutions fade away before February arrives. Find success in each day, let go of any slip ups, and celebrate your progress. Before you know it, another new year will be arriving and you will have checked a resolution off your list.
