Saturday, January 2, 2010

Resolution vs. Commitment


Are you resolve to improve your Health and Fitness this decade?

Or are you truly committed?

Dictionary.com defines resolution as " a formal expression of opinion or intention made." It also defines commitment as " a pledge or promise; obligation." I hope you agree that there's a serious difference between expression of opinion and an obligation.

It's like the ham and eggs breakfast: the chicken is opinionated, while the pig is committed.

As we begin a new decade, let's resolve to be committed to our health and fitness rather than opinionated about it.

It's the commitment, above all else, that counts. Setting specific, concrete goals is of course important (and more on that next, and in the following weeks), but committing to reach those goals is critical.

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." - Vince Lombardi

Reaching our fitness goals will not happen casually. There are too many distractions. Too many obstacles. Too many excuses. Indeed, reaching our 2010 Health and Fitness goals requires a genuine, sincere, pull-no-punches commitment.

Here's one way: Lay it on the line!
One of the best and most natural motivators in life is the spirit of competition! Having a concrete, time bound competitive deadline event to work towards is one of the most effective ways to keep your program on track!

Generally speaking, the more expensive and more highly publicized, the better! If you really, really, really want rock hard six pack abs and buns of steel, seek out and enter a physique competition. Send in your entry fee right away.

Or, seek out and enter a 10K run, or a short mountain bike race. Or, given all of that fabulous snow out there, enter a cross county ski event! The City of Lakes Loppet is just around the corner, and has events ranging from non-competitive trail tours to highly competitive races.

Whatever event you pick isn't important. What's important is that you register.

That's your commitment. Because with your registration fee on the line, you are far more likely to prepare for, and then complete the event. Preferably, find something with an entry fee of greater than $50 (just high enough to bother you if you don't show). Further, do tell as many of your friends and family about the event as possible!

Because nothing will keep you motivated, help you push through those last few burning reps, or pound out that final 200 foot climb like knowing that you're putting it all on the line in front of your own personal audience 3 weeks from Sunday. It works.

Afraid of crowds? Make it personal. Find a friend, family member, training partner, or trainer and place a personal bet. Pick a specific, or small collection of fitness elements ... resting heart rate, body fat percentage, total push ups in 1 minute ... (whatever you like!) ... and a testing date 4 weeks from now. Place $50 each into escrow somewhere. Winner takes all on test date. Believe it or not, this works! I've seen people work their butts off (quite literally!) for bragging rights and a t-shirt!

Or, if you've tried everything, and are ready to kick it up a notch, enter our 12 Week Transformation Contest!

Maybe you'll win the contest and spend 8 days in Jamaica. Or, maybe you'll merely end up looking and feeling 20 years younger. The important part is that you've committed.

1 comment:

Hiram said...

Great points explaining the difference between wanting to do something and simply doing it.

Most people (me included) "resolve" to get back into shape. However, the new year always brings new distractions along with it. The "commitment" usually wears thin very quickly.

There's all kinds of things you can do to keep yourself motivated and you listed most of them. But in the end, you either exercised or you didn't. Your muscles don't care that you got home late or that there were a million emails needing to be read. All they care about is whether you exercised or not.

Breaking your goals into "did you do it or didn't you" really helps to strip away all the excuses.

Hiram