Can’t remember if I’ve said it before, but the trick to success is:
- Start.
- Keep going.
- Finish.
When you look at it, this is really good advice. If you don’t start you won’t get anywhere; if you give up, you won’t succeed; and if you don’t finish, you can’t move on.
When it comes to health, it’s not obvious how “finish” applies, but it could be as simple as setting a goal. For instance, my goal for the rest of this month is to get up every day at 6AM and do some kind of exercise (strength or cardio). This gives me something to strive for, something to achieve, but not an endless road of pain. Telling yourself “from now on I will always get up at 6AM” is a recipe for failure – without a finishing point you will just say “Okay, I didn’t do it today but I can aim for a majority of days instead” – and you’re on the slippery slope.
The difference with saying you’ll only do it for a month, or a week, is that it’s a challenge, and it’s good to have something to strive for that feels achievable. Don’t get too hung up on success and failure, because happiness experts will tell you that results aren’t important as long as you invest in the process. But consider it this way: one month, thirty days or so. All you have to do is get up at a certain time, and do some form of physical activity. Doing this even on one day is a small victory, and whatever else comes along you have done something good for yourself already.
If after a month you find it’s working well for you, you might find you just want to make it a part of your day-to-day routine. But if it’s not, you can set yourself a new challenge. Measure your success by what you put into it; not what you got out of it.
