One week in and I’ve hit my daily Nike Fuel target for seven consecutive days. Tomorrow, my daily goal rises to 2,500. Some days have been pretty easy – walking the long way from the station, a game of squash – others have seen me doing star jumps in the kitchen at 10pm in a desperate bid to hit the daily target.
The star jumps have got me thinking about the nature of commitment. In particular, about how it fades over time.
Thinking back to GCSE physics, I think there’s a useful analogy with the half-life of radioactive materials. Right now, one week in, my commitment levels are high, how long will it take for me to become half as committed as I am now? How long before I decide that I’m willing to miss a daily target rather than jump around late at night? More importantly, how do I prevent the rot from setting in?
Well, #ASE_Fit_Club is itself a way of staying committed. Collaborating with others who have similar goals and sharing experiences helps maintain focus. I’m also posting updates on Faceook and Twitter as well as blogging about it – by regularly, publicly re-committing to my goals, I hope to extend the half-life.
It seems slightly negative to talk about fading commitment this early on, but it’s important to recognise that it happens and to generate ideas to maintain commitment.
How do you maintain commitment to a goal? What techniques do you use?
This blogpost was originally posted here on #ASE_Fit_club.