First Posted: 1/13/2014

Plan. Execute. Succeed.

New Year’s is over, but hopefully you’re sticking to your resolutions. After all, what does quitting say about a person’s character?

We always start our new goals with the best of intentions and, as time goes by, life happens and it’s easy to fall of the wagon – but that doesn’t mean you abandon your goals. It means you stop, reevaluate, re-execute, and get back on track.

With the early rush of motivation behind you, it’s time to dig much deeper than the spontaneous and compulsive approach to success.

Here are several strategies to get you back on track and stay the course:

1. Visualize your success and see yourself achieving your goal. It may be overwhelming to think about the big picture, but getting a sense of how it will feel to achieve your goal is empowering.

2. Avoid the “I’ll do it later” thoughts. Saying you’ll do it later is a copout response. Do it now. It’s a bad habit that you can fix over time.

3. Solicit social support. Getting support from a trainer, friends, or family members helps create accountability, and accountability is probably the number one reason people succeed. Sign up at Leverage and get all the support you will need.

4. Bite off less than you can chew. Breaking your ultimate goal down into smaller parts motivates you and creates momentum to continue.

5. Less is more. Intentionally doing a less taxing workout one or two days per week may seem counterproductive, but these lighter days allow for recovery. Plan something fun for these workouts to keep yourself from getting worn out. Try Fusion Flexibility at Leverage Fitness Studio.

6. Let someone else do the thinking for you. Hiring a trainer to design your workouts can assure that you do what you should be doing and not what you want to do. This keeps you on track and takes the guess work out of it. Try the BWOW at Leverage.

7. Get friends in high places. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people can have a huge impact on your self-esteem, motivation, and success rate.

8. Believe in yourself. You have to make up your mind that you will do this and succeed. You must be ready. Chances are if you’re not fully committed to the work and what lies ahead, you’re more likely to quit.

9. Stay positive. Understand that there may be setbacks. Allow for these to occur, but stay focused.

10. Look to the future. Maybe you’ve tried before and failed. So what? Some might say that past behavior is a predictor of future behavior. But you can change that. You just have to be willing.

-Tim Hlivia is the owner of Leverage Fitness Studio in Forty Fort.