Under the right circumstances, fitness goals can be powerful motivators. After all, simply having a fitness goal in mind can sometimes be enough to keep you on track with even the most grueling fitness routine. Other times, however, setting a fitness goal for yourself can cause you to later abandon your fitness routine, which, unfortunately, will prevent you from reaching your desired level of fitness. So, how can setting a fitness goal cause you to abandon your fitness routine and what can be done to prevent this abandonment from happening in the first place?
Well, to stop yourself from abandoning your fitness routine, be realistic when setting your fitness goals. Sure, it’s always nice to dream big when setting a fitness goal, but such lofty goals are often difficult to attain and can lead to disappointment if they aren’t quickly reached. It’s these feelings of disappointment that often lead to the avoidance of certain fitness activities, effectively preventing you from sticking to your fitness routine.
To increase your chances of success, set smaller fitness goals for yourself to be achieved while working toward an ultimate end goal. Each time you surpass one of these smaller fitness goals, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment and have a reason to celebrate. By associating positive feelings with your fitness routine instead of negative ones, you’ll have a much better chance of sticking to your routine and ultimately reaching your end fitness goal.
Because sticking to a long-term fitness routine can prove challenging, it’s important that you set personal fitness goals to help keep you motivated. The problem with setting motivational goals, however, is that if your goals cannot be reached within a reasonable about of time, they can lead to feelings of disappointment, which in turn can lead to abandoned fitness routines. For this reason, it’s vitally important that you set realistic fitness goals that will promote a sense of accomplishment, as feelings of accomplishment are far more motivating than feelings of disappointment.
