The First Step

The secret to staying motivated and fit during the holidays is not as monumental as one might think. In fact, it is not so much a mystery as perhaps a misconception. It does not necessarily involve avoiding all of the holiday foods, experimenting with the latest diet fads, or vowing yet another New Year's resolution.

These sort of temporary attempts at self-improvement rarely bring a lasting change, and have a tendency to backfire as we compensate for our holiday disappointments with over-indulgence. We know that anyone who is fit has not become so overnight. Fitness is a long-term endeavor. So how can it be achieved? First of all, we need to be assured that it can.

Sometimes, especially during the holiday season when we are bombarded with excuses to do anything but tend to our physical fitness, we can give in to the lie that it is impossible to keep up so we might as well not even try- that after all, we are not as naturally dedicated as those who seem to spend every waking moment of the year in the gym and are already genetically predisposed to looking fit. We should not be so easily deterred. Motivation and fitness is possible for all of us. We just need to know how!

The secret lies initially in short-term goal setting. Anyone who is serious about being fit must first make a personal short-term goal. If genius requires more perspiration than inspiration, then the converse is true of fitness. Just as a driver must have a destination in mind in order to remain on course, so the fitness enthusiast must have a desirable goal to reach.

The goal can not be too vague ("I want to get in shape"), too broad ("I want to lose a lot of weight"), or too overreaching ("I want to look like Schwarzenegger in his glory days") because the lack of immediate results may prove to be too discouraging. A short-term goal must be difficult enough to strive for, but visible enough to see, and specific enough to measure (i.e. "I want to lose [or gain] 10 pounds", "I want to tone my abs and thighs", or "I want to decrease my cholesterol and increase the circumference of my biceps"). With a short-term goal in mind, exercise and dietary intake can be focused, and results can be periodically assessed. Reasonable goals are also not too embarrassing to be discussed with friends and family, who can promote additional motivation through encouragement and monitoring.

The Second Step

The secondary element of staying motivated and fit is habit forming. Dedicating a time in the daily or weekly routine to reaching the established short-term goal is crucial to its accomplishment. Humans are creatures of habit. Most of us eat, sleep, and work at the same times every day, and will easily deviate from a program if it is not expected or regular. Habits take several weeks to form, but once established, they are firmly implanted in our memories.

A pattern of proper eating and physical exercise at the gym or fitness center needs to be developed in order to become familiar to the body. After a while, exercise and nutritious foods become cravings that are missed when neglected, and the commitment to the desired goal becomes automatically programmed. It has been said that getting to the gym is half the battle, but if getting there is something we are conditioned to do at certain times on certain days, that much of the battle is already won. Books, videos, and motivational speakers can provide the boost we need to ignite the motivational flame, but it is not until we have taken ownership of our bodies and accustomed them to healthier practices that we will be able to sustain it.

We should also be leery of making other’s goals our own, for we may become disappointed by our inability to keep up with them. Accountability with a workout partner or a personal trainer can also be helpful, but should not interfere with the personal short-term goals that we are making for ourselves and measuring against our own prior accomplishments.

In Conclusion

The method presented here is not only applicable to physical fitness, but has been proven successful in many of life’s endeavors. From riding a bike to learning a new trade, a manageable goal can be set, the steps gradually mastered through familiarity, and what once seemed unattainable becomes almost mechanical.

During the holiday season, minor adjustments can be made to our regimented lifestyles to incorporate the holiday spirit and its pleasures without forgetting our goals or deviating too much from our routines, because our minds have been trained to be ever-conscious of winning the bigger prize. When short-term goals are continually made and habits are formed to reach them, fitness is not only possible…it’s inevitable! Happy holidays!

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