Time remaining until half of the world decides to purchase a gym membership: 5 days.
Time remaining until the same half of the world no longer feels motivated to exercise: 35 days.
Yes, that's right. Almost everyone who swears on making his body a lean machine in the upcoming year is likely to give up before actually doing it.
I am not saying this to discourage you from embarking on the journey of getting fit. It's simply statistics.
A week from now, you will take a notebook. Prepare a cup of coffee, and sit down at your desk to jot down what you plan to accomplish in 2024.
Well, at least some of you will.
I am surely part of this group. The yearly-planning group.
For more than 10 years now, on the 1st of January, I position my ass on a chair to get clear on what I want to do during the next 12 months.
There is something liberating about waking up early in the morning on the first day of the year to write. While the rest of the world is still sobering up in their sleep, you are preparing for the year to come.
As you can imagine, though, simply planning your year is not enough to conquer your year.
What I've concluded in relation to setting goals is that trying to do a lot of things is usually a recipe for disaster.
Based on my experience, I found that it's best to focus on fixing a particular segment of your life, instead of aiming to fix your entire existence - e.g., choose to get fit instead of hoping to get fit, master pottery, read 100 books, and at the same time start a business.
Yet, even if you do concentrate on a particular segment. There is another problem: the diminishing motivation.
We all start the year with a tank full of excitement. We are eager to improve our lives and hope that this will be something permanent.
However, only a couple of weeks later - sometimes even days later - we find ourselves struggling to maintain our excitement.
The initial enthusiasm is long gone. The challenges of our daily lives begin to outweigh the desire for change. Thus, we start to make excuses, give up on our goals, and return to our old habits.
This pattern of starting strong and then quitting is unfortunately common. Many people begin the year with high hopes and big projects in mind, but give up on those wishes when obstacles start to appear.
What can we do?
There is one trait that, when gained, will make everything else a bit easier in terms of progress.
It's... self-discipline.
Self-discipline is about showing up daily, even when you don't feel like doing the things you know you should be doing.
If you are going to take on new challenges in the next year, I might have something for you that will help you boost your self-discipline muscles.
Stay tuned.
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