20/01/2021
To ensure we maintain our new fitness goals in the long run, it’s good habits – not willpower or motivation – that we need to prioritise. Here are science-backed tips for creating a long-lasting habit.
When it comes to setting fitness goals – to run a particular distance, lift a heavier weight or master a particular yoga pose – the predominant narrative is that willpower and hard work are the most important tools in our arsenal.
The reality though, is that once our motivation fades (as it inevitably will, especially in the middle of a winter lockdown), we need habits to help us reach our goals.
Habits are behaviours that we repeat enough times in a particular context that they become automatic. Studies have found that about 40% of our daily activities are not conscious actions, but ingrained habits – meaning that making small, positive behaviour changes has the power to transform our lives.
Because habits are unconscious and don’t require decision making, they free up our mental energy (so we can use it elsewhere) and don’t drain our willpower, “meaning that we’re engaging in behaviours that support our goals without needing to think about them,” says Stephanie Harrison, an expert in positive psychology and behaviour change and the founder and CEO of The New Happy.
Here are seven ways you can train your body and mind to develop a sustainable and lasting fitness habit.
DEFINE YOUR LONG-TERM GOAL
Start off by identifying your specific fitness goal – having a well-defined, specific, and challenging-yet-achievable target has been found to be essential to success.
Use the acronym SMART to make your goal specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound. For example, rather than, “I’m going to take up running,” instead opt for, “I want to run 5k by summer and I’m going to do this by running three times a week using the Couch to 5k app.”
Moreover, focus on “dos” rather than “don’ts”.
“Make it a positive habit: ‘I will do something’, not a fixing one such as ‘I won’t do something’. It’s much harder to feel in control of ‘not’ doing something.”