Are you a “January Person”?

Written by Heather

January 11th, 2010

Breaking the Cycle via Sustainable Plans of Action for Change and Goal Achievement 

By Heather Morgan

January Person (JP) (syn. Resolutioner): Someone bursting out of the gates—at any time of year, really—with their pants on fire to finallyonceandforall get back in shape/lose the weight/gain the muscle/increase the flexibility/clean up the diet/become more spiritual/get organized/stop smoking/etc.  This individual has no time for gradual baby steps.  Nope.  No way. In their mind, this new goal has to happen yesterday, if not sooner, without regard for how long they have been in whatever bad habit they are now trying to drop like a…um…bad habit. {ahem}  Typical JP behavior is characterized by: knocking down the door, filling the email inbox, or lighting up the phone of the nearest “personal betterment” professionals of various disciplines; telling everyone they know about their new plan of action for life; and, getting irritated when said-professional just isn’t getting them to their goal fast enough or when said-everyone raises an eyebrow implying doubt.  Finally, the most common defining trait of a JP is the abandonment of whatever new goals, behaviors, and tools of change were THE center of their lives just a handful of weeks prior.  The only differences are whether this occurs as a gradual declining fizzle-out or as a drop off of a ledge, and which excuse(s) are chosen by the JP for why things didn’t stick. 

Are you offended by this definition? Perhaps amused? If it’s the former or a combo, you are likely a January Person. And, yes, even athletes can be January People too. Let’s face it. We get irked when we recognize things we don’t like about ourselves, whether it’s in fictitious definitions, or in other people. Really, it doesn’t matter as long as you recognize the need to change your approach on some level, irksome or not. Before you commence to punishing yourself with unproductive mental whippings for falling off the wagon, take some heart while giving away some of the self-blame that may be coming up.  

Ask yourself these questions:

• Did I really know why I wanted to make changes to my training/nutrition/sport?
• Heck, did I actually want to make changes?
• Did I have a valid and reasonable goal?
• Did I have a goal at all?

(And most of all…)

• Was my plan for change and goal achievement sustainable? 

By “sustainable plan” I mean a plan for change that you could keep doing very long-term, very consistently. In fact, a truly sustainable plan is one you could do pretty much indefinitely with sensible alterations along the way according to changing circumstances. We typically hear this term used with regard to the environment, but it is absolutely applicable to desired goal achievement, no matter what it is, including participation in athletics. Think of it as schedule-endurance, if you will. So, maybe your plan for change just wasn’t sustainable, versus you being “lazy” or “too busy” and so on—yes? Read on.

An appropriate plan for change and goal achievement takes into account many subjective things. No one plan works for everyone, and therefore is not sustainable to each person. To avoid becoming a January Person—any month of the year—consider some the following four principles before jumping headlong into that heinous pre-season training regimen, aggressive diet plan, or complicated meet-up schedule:

1. Convenience: This one is pretty simple and a good place to start. If the time and location of the sport, activity, coaching facility, or training group you are considering don’t both flow well with your current work life, personal life, and geographical location, it likely won’t be something you can stick to, at least not without a high level of discomfort. Example: You want to join your BFF’s charity triathlon training group, but it’s a minimum 30 minute drive to meet-ups. See if there is a group of members close to you for routine group training, and join your friend on the weekends. Who knows, the local group might be chock full of hot singles. Score!
2. Manageability: Make sure your plan does not require a level of extra time, effort, or money you don’t currently have to give to it. Less is definitely more when you’re a busy person trying to seamlessly insert something into your schedule. Consistency will be your key concept far and away over large time commitments. It adds up, I promise. Manageable goals are ones that can change with the inevitable variability of life circumstances as well. They can be dialed up or down as needed. Without this principle in play, the all-or-nothing trap is nearly impossible to avoid getting caught in. Example: You’ve chosen an event to compete in several months away. Two and half months into training, you are lined up to be an attendant in The Wedding of the Century (and aren’t they all?) which is scheduled for same day as your event. Make yourself aware of other similar events occurring within a month or two of that one as “backups” to keep training on-track in case something happens to get in the way of your competing in the original event.
3. Authenticity: Make sure what you are choosing honors your preferences and personality. Just because something works well for one person, doesn’t mean it will work well for you. Trying new things is great, don’t get me wrong, but overall you don’t want to be something you’re not, such as an early morning trainee for example. Rather, ask yourself what you enjoy doing (or if you don’t know, think about what you enjoyed doing as a kid), whether or not you just need a little guidance or someone holding your hand while staying on your tail, what time of day you feel best, whether or not you’re a loner or someone who feeds off the energy of others. You get the idea. It may take some experimentation if you’ve never developed this level of self-awareness. Just remember that boo-boo’s are progress in disguise, as long as they don’t derail you. Example: There’s nothing worse than being mid-way into your first marathon training long run and realizing “I hate running long distances”. Unless the occasional free singlet or sports bar are enough to keep you going, you might want to rethink your current sport of choice.
4. Visibility: Your goal(s) should be something you can strongly imagine and believe yourself achieving. Likewise, they should be well-defined and measurable on some level. Without some method of tracking progress, how will you know whether or not you’re heading in the right direction? This is also integral to success and sustainability as it alerts you when your plan needs tweaking to accommodate the other factors described above, or when reasonable results are not occurring with diligent and consistent effort. Journaling is just one example of a great way to track progress that can apply to any sort of goal. All athletes should be doing this! Additionally, if your goal is big, make sure you have smaller goals set up along the way, with appropriate rewards set in place once achieved. These smaller milestones should also be well-defined and measurable. Obvious once reached, in other words. It’s really hard to hit a target with your eyes closed. In the case of training for an event or race, completion is obvious, of course. But milestones are necessary for off-season motivation as well. Example: Your diet and training are on like Donkey Kong in-season, what with swimsuits, group workouts, and stopwatches running your life. But what about during the off-season? If the only training you’re doing during the holidays is 12-ounce curls in preparation to compete in your family’s annual quarters tournament, put down the beer for a minute and pick out some training and nutrition marks to hit before pre-season training starts.

By nature, employing these four principles when formulating a sustainable plan of action for change and goal achievement honors a fifth principle: Individuality. This is important because when your plan is truly “you”, you have a higher likelihood of continuing with it well beyond any of your “Januaries”. Know what you want. Know yourself. Know what kind of resources (time, money, effort, help) you have available. Know what level of desire you have to fuel your endeavor. Example: If The Wedding of the Century mentioned earlier is yours, it may not be best to be training hardcore during the months you are planning your nuptials. That is unless it’s in keeping with your and your intended’s personalities to cross a finish line donning a veil and bowtie. And lastly, if you have many goals, know which of them are your highest priority and most integral to having better sport performance, as well as a high-functioning life, right now. You’ll be surprised at how that spills over into the other goals you have, often ultimately fostering their achievement as well.

Good luck with all of your plans of action for change.  And if we can help you along the way, consider us ready and willing (and honored) to do so when you are.  info@modelper4mance.com

Tags: motivation, organization, Pondering