February is almost gone. You probably started 2021 with a list of personal goals for this year. You felt motivated, ready to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to get where you want to be. You were fired the f*** up when you wrote them, (if you actually did).
You began your journey, your first pull-up, first handstand push up, first muscle up, first kilo of many off the scales. You started, guns blazing after every session doing those extras a coach told you to do. A few weeks go by, and you are smashing the extras but haven’t gotten the result you were hoping for.
The motivation is dimming, you start to slack off on those extras, you feel as though the finish line is a tad out of reach now.
If you feel this way you’re not alone. Studies show that only less than 30% of people work through their goals and accomplish them.
One of the most powerful ways to achieve your goals and to join this 30% is to share them. A study of 267 participants, led by Psychology professor Dr. Gail Mathews at the Dominican University in California, looked at how writing your goals down, telling a friend and/or having a friend get in on the goal could increase your chances of succeeding.
When you share your goals three things happen:
- You become more accountable:
Dr. Mathews found out in her study that more than 70% of participants who sent weekly updates to an accountability partner had successfully completed their goal, (or were more than halfway there) compared to 30% who kept it to themselves. You could formally make an arrangement with a friend or family member, where you specifically tell them to check your progress, and ask you how much you weigh on a certain date for example. Or it can be informal, and logically it will come up in conversation, every now and then.
2. You may receive help:
Most of the times when you share your goals with a real close friend, or family member they find a way to assist you. They can introduce you to a contact who may be able to help, they may ask you what type of food you are eating if you’re taking care of your nutrition next time you go to a restaurant.
3. It makes you more motivated
I’m sure we can all agree that achieving a goal we shared with someone close to us is even more exciting than doing it alone. You share the highs and lows, and for us who are into fitness, we know there can be many highs and many lows. There’s something powerful about sharing goals with another person. I have found that even though writing goals is effective, when you share a goal you are more likely to commit. They can also cheer you up when things don’t turn out as you expected. You’ll probably be more disciplined when temptation to quit arises, and you’ll probably encourage others to accomplish their goals too.
Couple this with writing them down, then read them aloud every. Single. Day. And you are on the right path to achieving whatever you want. It will still get hard, you’ll still feel like quitting but seeing WHY you started and having someone there might just give you the extra rocket-like lift you need to get the job done.
