Creating Daily Habits

We all have goals in our life. Some of us have really high goals, some of us have mediocre and some of us only set goals occasionally, but we all have worked to achieve something before. Yet, very rarely are we able to commit to these goals. But why?

Take a look at the stats. Nationwide, the biggest goal-setting day each year is January 1st. That's right, the infamous New Years Resolution. On average, 80% of all New Years resolutions fail by Super Bowl Sunday. That means, on average, 80% of us can't commit to achieving our goals or changing for the better. What can you do to change this? Make your goal into a habit!

A habit is something you do every single day. It's something engraved in your daily regimen that you don't even have to think about getting it done, you just do. It's like brushing your teeth (hopefully). Far too often, people will set goals that are either too vague (i.e. I want to get in shape for the summer), too difficult, or don't have a daily plan to follow. People will set really high goals, because they're impatient and want results as quickly as possible, instead of making daily sacrifices. By making your goal into a habit, and forcing yourself to do something every day, you'll be working towards your goal at a much more consistent pace.

For example, on January 1st, 2016 I set a goal to lose 15 pounds and be able to run a mile in under six minutes. Typical. Most of my college career had been spent overeating and not working out enough, and I wanted to change that. Instead of going out the first day and running mile as fast as I could, I decided to take it slow. Every day for the month of January, I made sure to do a single 15 minute cardio workout. This way I wasn't rushing myself to achieve my goal, but instead I was forming a habit that would keep me working hard daily. It normally takes 28 days to form a habit, so keep that in mind. 

What is something you've been wanting, but haven't had the willpower to work towards? How will you make this into a daily habit instead. Measure your progress by what you do daily, set the deadline a bit further, and you will be able to achieve whatever you set out to do.