Argh, not another New Year’s Resolution blog!

The unfortunate fact is that the vast majority of us who pronounce a lofty resolution fail to achieve the desired end result.  If you want proof compare the crowd at your local gym on January 10^th vs. March 10^th.   The typical gym business model counts on the majority giving up.

Do you want to maximize your chances to thwart this sad resolution trend?

Start with the science.  All of our resolutions should seek a balance between what psychologist Richard Davidson calls pre-goal attainment positive affect and post-goal attainment positive affect.

His argument:  the feeling of well-being we experience as we reach for a goal makes us feel better and for longer than the momentary “phew” feeling we get after a goal is accomplished.

In layman’s terms the journey actually trumps the destination.

However, I want to emphasize two points.  First, regardless of the destination in mind, if we do not make the journey fun and varied then our achievement will feel bittersweet at best.  And second, without the destination fixed in our minds we are rarely motivated to begin and continue the journey no matter how fun and varied we make it.

Here is how this has played out in my life recently.

A while back I met with a very good friend who suggested we run a half marathon together.  I loved the idea of joining her to meet this challenge.  I left the meeting all fired up and excited to learn all I could about what it takes to successfully complete a 13-mile run.

First, I went on-line and read all that I could on marathons, consulting articles in magazines and journals.  Then, I took advantage of an already scheduled meeting with a very successful and extremely talented personal trainer named Andrew Darin.  I asked him a slew of questions about the race.  And he offered a ton of priceless insight.  Then, I hired a running coach for one session to check my form.  Then, I started to tell the people I love about my newest goal:  my partner, my business partner, my friends.  Finally, I started my training regimen.

In short, this is the process I use to make any goal fun and varied.  I dig into the research, I ask lots of questions, I stay open-minded, I tell the people I love about my pursuit, and I start to experiment with the steps to reach the goal.  Quite simply, I play to my strengths.

But then my friend who suggested it had to cancel because of another obligation.

And do you know what happened?  I stopped training for the half-marathon.

Playing to our strengths is simply not enough.

Why?  Without the end goal in mind I stopped pursuing it.  The eventual triumph incentivizes us to create the fun and varied steps to get there and the fun and varied steps incentivize us to triumph.  It is like peanut butter and jelly, so hard to enjoy one without the other.

So what is the solution if I want to continue training?  For me, simple.  Pick a different half marathon to run with my friend or find another friend to run with in the original half marathon.

This is not rocket science, but it is grounded in neuroscience!

At Kinetic our Success U course teaches our clients how success is only success if the process of goal achievement enhances us both emotionally and physically.  This fun and varied pursuit, combined with the accomplishment of the goal, creates a permanent boost in the goal seeker’s happiness level.  It is the best possible human feedback loop: goal achievement and happiness!

But there are no short cuts.  The destination and the journey are inextricably linked.

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If you have any questions about coaching please feel free to contact me at scott@kineticcoaching.co, and remember I always offer a complimentary 30-45 minute session to prospective clients to determine if we want to work together.