Have you ever been to a gym or fitness centre during the first week of January? I like to compare the atmosphere to organized chaos as people scramble to access workout space and equipment. Gym members are energized and focused on getting their workout in no matter how challenging the gym experience may be.
January is easily the busiest month of the year for gyms memberships. Many people feel dissatisfied with their health habits after the holiday season. Some people want to adopt a healthier lifestyle at the start of the new year. And some people just want to increase their confidence.
These are great reasons to join a gym. What’s interesting is that the gyms start to slow down about four to eight weeks into the new year. Fitness industry statistics show that 18% of new gym members quit going to the gym by the end of February. What’s even more alarming, is that 80% of gym members who join in January, quit within five months.
Why do people quit going to the gym or quit anything at all for that matter?
Whenever you create a new change in your life, there are going to be times when that change is challenged by some form of resistance. Whether it’s adding a healthy habit, starting a new business plan, or creating a new revenue stream, you may start out strong and feel fully committed, but your personal drive may fade over time. This resistance can come in the form of stress, anxiety, frustration, or emotional fatigue. It challenges your desire or personal drive and threatens to stop you from persevering.
What Is Personal Drive?
Personal drive or desire is closely related to your inherent motivation. It’s aligned with your core values, identity, and capabilities. Inherent motivation offers personal satisfaction or fulfillment when achieving goals in life. In other words, it has a deeper meaning for you.
When something you want to change has a deeper meaning to you, you are more likely to withstand the resistance to change, and achieve what you want. When you have the personal drive within you, it’s easier to set and achieve external motivating factors such as goals and targets you want to reach.
How Can I Increase My Personal Drive?
Working with an experienced coach is a great option to help you increase your commitment to achieve what you want. They are trained to help you explore new possibilities and how they align with your core values, identity, and capabilities.
Here are some key questions a coach may use to strengthen your personal drive:
By achieving this, what does it give you that’s even more important?
What else becomes possible for you?
Who else benefits when you achieve this?
How might you commit to this?
What might prevent you from achieving it?
In addition to helping strengthen your personal drive, your coach will also support you to stay focused when the resistance to change becomes hard to overcome. They’ll monitor your progress and ensure you’re staying focused and on track. Your coach is motivated to help you move beyond what you thought you could achieve.
When you combine a strong personal drive with actionable steps, you can achieve incredible results that can last a lifetime.
To learn more about professional coaching or schedule a free 20-minute consultation, click here.