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We all set goals for ourselves that we often do not meet. If you've been struggling to find time to be physically active, bookmark this as inspiration.
You start the week thinking, you'll get up early do do yoga, or you pack your sports wear, hoping to hit the gym after office, or if you're really ambitious, you make a plan to skip lunch to get a long walk in instead - and while we hope all of those plans come true, we know that reality is often different.
So here's some interesting research if you've been putting off your health goals this year.
Back in 2021, researchers Dr Mirjam Tuk and Dr Bram van den Bergh from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) and Prof. Sonja Prokopec from ESSEC Business School in Singapore wanted to find out more about how people determine their goal levels and how they can be influenced to set more ambitious goal levels.
The results turned out to be counter intuitive to what one might have thought.
According to Dr Mirjam Tuk: “When you want to achieve more ambitious goals, it is more effective to think about how many times you will not work towards your goal. So think about how many times you want to skip the gym this week. You will end up going more often."
In light of that advice, Dr Bram van den Bergh had said: "It is of vital importance for individuals and also for many organisations to get people to reach more ambitious goals – such as saving more, working more efficiently, eating more healthily and exercising more.
"This study provides evidence for a highly effective nudge that prompts people to set more ambitious goals which in turn also increases their performance."
In a nutshell, shoot for the stars and aim for the moon - setting ambitious targets, or what we often call as 'stretch targets' will bring you closer to your goals.
Don't close this tab just yet - to motivate you further, we've pulled out real-life comments from commenters on Quora on how they find the motivation or time to work out or go to the gym. Read on:
1. "Make it a habit. During the week, I go to the gym every other day before work. It has now become a habit, just like brushing my teeth. My brain never complains anymore, I just get up and get going."
2. "Make it free from friction. I always have my coffee-brewer prepped, my workout clothes folded on a chair and eat a breakfast that is quick to make. Then I just walk to the gym which is located about 250 meters from my home. Everything is easy, no excuses."
3. "If you have the opportunity, I recommend working out in the morning. This means that you can come home from work in the evening and just enjoy yourself."
4. "When I go home and I feel lazy, I tell myself it's only going to take 15 minutes, why should I feel guilty not taking care of my body when I go to sleep?"
5. "I was a failure at so many fronts of my life, that gym showed me I can succeed too. I can succeed at surpassing my negative believes. I can bear the load, I can even bear the progressive overload."
6. "First, in order to find what I like, I had to leave the gym. I started running, and I loved it, I don't know if it was the wind, the smell or the music I listened to (sounds better outside). Then I started adding body weight training in to the routine. I would run till I felt like it, then do my body weight stuff."
7. "Get your personal trainer to change your programme every time you get bored of it."
8. "My first suggestion is to work with a trainer or a friend who can encourage you or motivate you when you want to be lazy. This should be a person who can yell at you or make you feel bad rather than tell you it’s ok to skip the gym."
9. "Try to make working out a money-related issue if wasting money makes you feel bad. Sign up for classes that you can’t cancel, purchase a gym bag that you should put it into use… Things like that will trick you into a guilty workout. I’m not saying guilt is the best trigger, but it can be effective at first."
10. "Your diet is most important. Find the specific eating plan that fits your goals. What I do, for instance, is eat totally clean Monday to Friday and have a cheat snack here and there on the weekends. Never overdo it, balance is key."
11. "Take more pictures of yourself when you start exercising. Look at your 'before' pictures. Gradually you will start noticing the change in yourself. Once you achieve that, your motivation just doubles. There’s no looking back then."
*Comments have been edited for language and clarity.
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