What’s the Best Way to Stay Motivated?
It’s a familiar cycle: You set a wellness goal and you’re really excited to get started — to finally complete that triathlon or take up meditation. For the next few weeks, everything goes to plan: You follow your training schedule to the letter or find the perfect meditation cushion, but eventually, your enthusiasm dwindles. If this rollercoaster sounds familiar, you’re not alone. One 2020 study found that only half of participants stuck to their New Year’s resolutions after a year, while another found that a third of people abandoned their resolutions after just one month.
Once motivation starts to wane, it’s easy to feel demoralized, which can often lead you to give up on the goal you were once so excited about entirely, whether gradually or all at once. But, chances are that you really do want to run that triathlon, start meditating, or commit to some other goal, and you don’t have to resign yourself to abandoning that aim. There are some key adjustments you can make to your routine and, importantly, your mindset, to ensure you actually stick to your fitness, nutrition, or general health goals for the months (and years!) ahead. The ultimate goal: To turn them from one-time finish lines into longterm habits.
Excerpted from Shape
