Let me paint you a picture. You used to run at least once a week or even more. But then life happened, or it got colder outside, and you stopped. You even bought membership to a gym thinking it would push you to start running and working out again.
Aren’t you sick and tired of procrastination? Let’s ditch this horrible habit for good. Here’re a few quick tips you can use to finally stop procrastinating and start running.
Suddenly, you start noticing how you got out of shape. Maybe even gained some weight? You decide, it’s time to get back to running. Why is it not as easy as you thought? You keep procrastinating, and that “tomorrow morning” never comes.
Aren’t you sick and tired of procrastination? Let’s ditch this horrible habit for good. Here’re a few quick tips you can use to finally stop procrastinating and start running.
Dig Deeper
You might have heard phrases: find your WHY, find your purpose. I could’ve used them, but decided to be a bit more original. We tend to ignore overused phrases even when they mean something essential to our success.
The first thing you’ve got to do when you find yourself procrastinating is go back to the core. Dig deeper and excavate the purpose of the activity you keep putting off.
Why do you want to start running? Would you like to lose weight and become more confident? Are you worried about your health and hope to strengthen it to live longer for your family? Have you been dreaming of running a marathon one day? Determine the purpose, the WHY, the core reason you want to get into running.
Make it Simple
Have you heard the phrase: everything genius is simple? Albert Einstein also said: “The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.”
Neuroscientists proved that our brain will always choose the easiest path. It’s ‘wired to take the path of least resistance’, writes Caroline Beaton in her article in Forbes and Psychology Today.
If you want to start running, make it very easy for your brain. Prepare your running clothes in advance. Lay everything out on the chair in the evening, so that it’s the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning.
It needs to be a ‘no-brainer’ for you to get dressed and get out of the door.
Make it very simple for your brain and focus on one step at a time: get up, get dressed, put on shoes, leave the house. Now you’re out, start running.
And very soon you’ll be doing it without thinking twice because it’ll become a habit. And you will stop procrastinating it forever!
Find a Buddy
One of the most effective ways to quit the habit of procrastination is to find an accountability partner. There’s enormous power in accountability.
I’ve seen it in my life and lives of my friends and students. As soon as you find a buddy who agrees to hold you accountable, ask you about your progress once a week (or as frequently as you decide), life will become easier.
An accountability buddy could also be your coach, trainer, friend or family member. It doesn’t matter as long as you both commit to it.
Recently I asked one of my best friends who’s a more experienced runner than me to become my running coach. She knows more about running since she’s run twice as many marathons as me. We started meeting once a week to discuss my training, challenges and progress.
Her advice and support are precious by all means. Yet, the greatest value of these meetings is that she holds me accountable. I regularly report on the progress of my training runs and strength workouts. And then she also asks me about my nutrition goals and other habits I’m striving to build.
During our meetings we always use my Habit Builder sheet which is a part of the Motivational Planner. You can download it for free right here!
Celebrate Wins
Have you heard of the chemical called Dopamine? It’s a hormone or a neurotransmitter that our brain releases when we achieve a goal and recognize the accomplishment. Dopamine is also one of the happiness hormones which gives us pleasure and satisfaction as part of the reward system.
Here’s a simple trick you can play with your brain. It’ll help you stop procrastinating forever tie running and working out to happiness and pleasure.
Next time you finish a long run or a hard workout, celebrate! Reward yourself with something desirable for you. It’s rather personal. For some people it could be a piece of cake or a candy, for others it would be a movie or a nap. Choose something that brings joy to you personally.
For example, I drink coffee only twice a week these days. Yet, whenever I do speed work or have a particularly long or hard run, I get myself a latte. Then my brain connects this running activity with positive emotion and will want to do it again next time. That’s how people get addicted to certain things.
Let’s summarize. First, you need to dig deeper and find your big WHY. Then make sure to make it really easy for your brain to build the habit of running. One step at a time. Then find an accountability buddy who’ll help you along the way. And finally, celebrate by rewarding yourself for every achieve goal.
It’s good to celebrate every little win, but be careful. If you eat a piece of cake after each run, you might kill your goal of becoming a healthy eater. 🙂
Here’s a gift for you! This Motivational Planner will help you plan workouts, build habits and take better control of your life.
