Each New Year begins the same way for many of us. We outline our goals to become happier and healthier, and we muster up a fiery determination to stick to these resolutions more successfully than in years past.
But right around the end of February, something goes awry. Maybe it’s all the Valentine’s Day chocolates that throw us off our game. Or maybe some of us are so sad about football season being over that we lose the will to eat right and exercise. Whatever the reason, it is estimated that just eight to 12 percent of people stick to their New Year’s resolutions.
As a former professional athlete and the sports pastor at Shepherd Church in Los Angeles, I am passionate about the physical and spiritual aspects of life. I want to see people succeed in their goals to become physically active, lose weight, and benefit from the fellowship and camaraderie of team sports.
In nearly 14 years of running Shepherd Sports and over 30 years of being active in sports, here are three keys I have found that help people achieve long lasting results:
1. Choose Something You Enjoy
Fitness centers are packed with people in January, but not everyone is a gym person. Not everyone likes the monotony of the treadmill or the stair climber or that rubbery gym smell. That’s probably why you’ll find that the gym is not quite so congested a couple of months into the year.
In order to stick with your fitness goals, find something you love. If the gym is not for you, try hiking, running, walking, surfing, boot camp classes, or team sports. In the last decade we have seen so many new options. Pilates clubs, cross fit gym, rowing studios keeping trying and find something you like.
2. Fellowship and Accountability
Whether you’re trying to kick a bad habit or reach a personal goal, you are more likely to be successful if you have the accountability of at least one other person—someone who will ask you about your progress and encourage you, or someone who will actually join you as you walk toward the same objective. The Bible says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).
TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE, BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GOOD RETURN FOR THEIR LABOR: IF EITHER OF THEM FALLS DOWN, ONE CAN HELP THE OTHER UP.
If you enjoy an individual type of activity this is even more critical, and I believe is the exact reason that organizations like cross-fit and other fitness studies are successful. Try searching for clubs of your favorite activity or check out the website www.meetup.com for already existing groups of people who are passionate about the same thing you are.
3. Set Reasonable Goals
It has been said that a dream without a plan is just a wish. In order to stick with your resolutions this year, take a moment to sit down and write out a specific plan. What kinds of things will you do each day to work toward your goal?
For example:
If it’s your desire to lose weight, you might write down, “Eliminate processed foods, ask Judy or John to be my accountability partner, and exercise Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after work.”
If it’s your desire to get stronger or run in a marathon this spring, you might write down, “Sign up for boot camp classes and train with the run/walk group on Saturday mornings.”
Or, “By March, I want to be able to do 30 pushups, 100 sit-ups, and run one mile in 10 minutes.”
Make sure to post your plan somewhere you will see it daily to remind you.
I hope these tips have encouraged you today for a successful new year. Eternity Sports wishes you success in your athletic and fitness goal for this year and don’t forget to connect God to your game.
