I know what you're thinking, another post about resolutions and goals, blah blah blah. In other places I've talked a lot about SMART goals, motivation goals, and all sorts of things. I'm not going to do that again, I think that horse is plenty dead.
What I am going to do is share a little something instead, no matter what you have planned, see no 'G' word :), for 2022.
Recently I have been using my time commuting to and from work (all 10 min of it), and even when I'm out on my long training days, to study things that interest me. One great resource I've added is the Optimize app (totally free btw), and it's helped me greatly. One thing that has come up a couple of times was motivation and not just motivation in general, but motivation to achieve goals, and continue past them. I've worked with all kinds of people and athletes and it's something I never really noticed, but when looking back on my notes, it's something that should have been glaringly obvious and stupid simple.
There is a study that's been done, I don't have the link for it but when I track it down I'll add it, that shows why certain habits form and others do not. They looked at 2 groups of people. They both had the overall goal to lose weight (a common and extremely ambiguous goal). It wasn't the goal that differentiated the groups though, it was HOW they looked at the day-2-day outcomes. The control group maintained the goal of losing weight, there was a focus on how much, and by when (so it fit the SMART model). The test group had the same overall goal, but were instructed to focus on how they felt after working out, both mentally and physically.
At the end of the study guess who had a greater adherence and overall success? The second group, by a lot. In fact that second group (the one focussed on the day-2-day feeling and how their mood shifted) not only reached the weight loss goal, but most continued on to more life long habit forming!
This got me thinking about why I train. Ever since I was a child I found endurance training to be magical in helping control my depression and loneliness. I fell in love with the bike and that helped me through those indoor sessions, the times I wanted to quit, and the injuries. Quitting training was never really an option.
Here's my challenge to you, fall in love with being physical. It doesn't matter if you're riding centuries, or just walking around the block. Love how it feels to move your body, remember what it felt like to play as a kid, and remember that even on the toughest days you're miles ahead of where you came.
- Coach Chris
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