WEBVTT - Stay motivated when progress is slow

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to stay motivated in long

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<v Speaker 1>term projects when progress is slow. This episode is first

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<v Speaker 1>running in mid February. We're several weeks into the new year.

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<v Speaker 1>Many people resolved to get in shape around January one,

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<v Speaker 1>but as life intervenes, many people fall off the wagon.

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<v Speaker 1>One gym chain went so far as to analyze their

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<v Speaker 1>customer data and declare a fitness cliff, which is right

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<v Speaker 1>around February ninth or so. We've talked in past episodes

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<v Speaker 1>about the challenges with New Year's resolutions. One of these

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<v Speaker 1>is that people fail to account for the realities of

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<v Speaker 1>their lives. I think another major one is that progress

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<v Speaker 1>on any project can be slow. I am not a

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<v Speaker 1>big fan of the common resolution to lose weight. In

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<v Speaker 1>my mind, better to focus on healthy habits and let

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<v Speaker 1>the scale go where it goes. However, if you have

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<v Speaker 1>chosen this as a resolution, even if you do everything right,

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<v Speaker 1>it's hard to sustain healthy weight loss of more than

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<v Speaker 1>about half a pound a week. People naturally cycle up

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<v Speaker 1>and down through the day. Women often cycle up and

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<v Speaker 1>down through the month, and these swings can easily be

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<v Speaker 1>four to five pounds in normal healthy people. So if

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<v Speaker 1>you do the math, this seems that responsible weight loss

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<v Speaker 1>can look like nothing for at least the first month

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<v Speaker 1>or two. No wonder people's motivation flags. But there are

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<v Speaker 1>ways to avoid falling off the motivation cliff. The first

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<v Speaker 1>is to celebrate other winds, whether you're losing weight or not.

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<v Speaker 1>A good workout feels well good, so celebrate that endorphin

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<v Speaker 1>rush as an extra moment of healthy happiness added to

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<v Speaker 1>your life. Maybe you made a new friend at the gym.

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<v Speaker 1>Celebrate that there's now someone else in your life whose

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<v Speaker 1>name you know and who you care about. If you

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<v Speaker 1>can lift a little heavier or run a little faster,

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<v Speaker 1>make a note of this. You may be able to

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<v Speaker 1>see progress here a lot faster than other sorts of progress,

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<v Speaker 1>So keep a detailed blog that you can study anytime

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<v Speaker 1>you're feeling like not much is changing. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>think more in terms of identity than results. I maintain

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<v Speaker 1>that anything you do three times a week is a habit,

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<v Speaker 1>so celebrate any steps towards your goal that you managed

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<v Speaker 1>to do three times a week. If you're trying to

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<v Speaker 1>write a book. Three hour long writing sessions during the

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<v Speaker 1>week is an accomplishment, so treated as such. Now you're

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<v Speaker 1>a writer, talk about this, refer to yourself this way,

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<v Speaker 1>and finally, it might help to do some mental time travel. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>progress is slow and seems negligible now, but soon what

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<v Speaker 1>you're seeing now will disappear in the rear view mirror.

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<v Speaker 1>Losing half a pound a week seems like nothing at first,

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<v Speaker 1>but a few months the future, even at that pace,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll be outside the regular swings. You may only have

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<v Speaker 1>a few thousand words in your novel now, but those

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<v Speaker 1>words do accumulate, and someday you'll have tens of thousands

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<v Speaker 1>of words. So picture your future self celebrating these winds.

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<v Speaker 1>You could even write a letter to your future self

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<v Speaker 1>talking about what you're doing now to achieve these winds,

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<v Speaker 1>and as soon as you do start to see real progress,

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<v Speaker 1>thank your past self for making these choices. Even if

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<v Speaker 1>this all feels a little silly, acknowledgement goes a long way,

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<v Speaker 1>and hopefully that will keep you going to the gym

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<v Speaker 1>past mid February. How do you stay motivated for long

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<v Speaker 1>term projects? I'd love to hear about it. You can

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<v Speaker 1>email me at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. M Hey everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.