Welcome to Part 3 of this series of short blogs designed to help you start and maintain a running habit by first focusing on the toughest part, overcoming the barriers that stop you getting out the front door.

In Part 2 we explored reasons why your running habit might not have ‘stuck’ in the past. If you missed this blog, take 5 minutes to think about the real reason for wanting to become a runner, that deep down WHY that drives you and then commit to a running goal that you can achieve within 30 days.

• Run or Run/Walk 1 mile

• Run/Walk 2 times a week

Now reflect on all the reasons AND excuses you have preventing you from starting to run. Capture these in writing too.

Now let’s consider the core question for today:

How can I make my running goal as easy as possible to achieve?

To do that we’e going to look at the goal through three different lenses:

1. Current skill level

2. Your environment

3. Size and scale of the goal

Don’t worry if nothing comes up for the first couple of these lenses, I guarantee you will be able to find something significant for size and scale.

Consider your current skill level…

Can you make your running goal easier by improving your skills or knowledge? On the surface this might sound like a ridiculous question, but here are some examples.

• Could you find out more about your current running gait and research the best shoes to make sure your feet are comfortable?

• Could you learn more about Jeffing and the best run/walk ratio for starting your running habit?

Now consider your environment…

Can you make a running habit easier to start by changing the environment in which you run? This could refer to where, who with, or time of day.

For example:

• Would renting a treadmill for home, make it easier to get on it and start moving rather than having to think about a route, the weather etc. Remember this is just about getting started and the financial investment in the treadmill rental can act as a motivator too!

• Could you find a friend who would be willing to commit to your goal and run with you?

• If you’ve always tried to run before of after work in the past, can you give yourself permission to get out during working hours (and make up the time if you have an employer to keep happy). You can always drop in how much more productive you’ll be after getting your heart rate going!

• Do you need a consistent routine or is it better if you plan at the beginning of each week when you can run?

Now let’s think about the size and scale of your running goal…

First of all, I want to make clear that we are not abandoning the running goal you set out earlier, we are simply exploring ways to make getting started easier. One of the most successful ways of doing this is to start small, ridiculously small, so small that it almost doesn’t feel worth performing the activity.

Here are a couple of examples:

• I want to run 3 times a week becomes I will run once a week for 5 minutes

• I want to be able to run a mile comfortably becomes I will run 100 metres slowly

What will your ridiculously small action be?

Feel free to email and let me know at connect@clubsynergy.co.uk

Good luck and see you soon for Part 4.

Kelly

1. Every time you miss a day/session/practice you use it as an excuse to “fall off the wagon”

If you often hear yourself say “I’ll start again on Monday” after a daily blip, you are reinforcing a habit, just not the one you want to reinforce!

The solution - be kind to yourself, forgive the environment, forgetfulness, busy day or whatever got in the way of you carrying through your plan and then in the words of James Clear “never miss twice”.

2. The new habit you are trying to build is just too big

It’s easy to over-estimate our motivation. How many times have you sat on the sofa on a certain Sunday at the end of April and pledged to be one of those London Marathon runners next year? Getting swept up in the emotion and excitement, despite the fact that the moths have seen your trainers more than you have recently! You download your training plan that requires you to run 4 times a week and the motivation lasts about 4 minutes into your first run. In this example, you’ve focused on the goal (run 26.2 miles) and forgotten about all the systems and processes that it takes to get you there.

The solution - chunk it down. Ridiculous through it may sound, setting a micro habit is the way to nail that big goal. Try building your habit muscle by setting out your running kit every night before bed. Build this habit first and the next micro step of putting it on and heading out the door for 5 minutes becomes a piece of cake. the secret here is to build the desire to build on the habit. To create and strengthen a cue that motivates you to crave putting on the kit and running

3. You can’t see yourself as someone who has the new habit that you want to create.

What we repeat becomes who we are. Habits and identity are inextricably linked. If you cannot picture yourself as a runner/ punctual/a non-smoker and instead hold on to your identity as someone who hates exercise/is fashionably late/a social smoker your attempts to change your habits will be in vain.

The solution - climb into the skin of the person you aspire to, try it on, note down the habits and behaviours this person would demonstrate, get really specific and then start small, with one tiny habit that you can genuinely identify with.

Keen to understand your blocks to building new habits, book a FREE discovery chat with Kelly.

Image by Lala Azizli

Look closely at the pile of books in the image above and you will spot my all time favourite book on the topic of habits - how we develop them, how we can change them and what you can do to make new habits stick.

That book is Atomic Habits by James Clear. There is a storytelling approach to the narrative which brings the text to life and makes it relatable. Check out the video below to hear one of the stories that really landed with me. It illustrates the importance of tiny steps repeated often to successfully build new habits.

While I make no secret of my love for this work by James Clear, their are other texts that have unlocked and sharpened my understanding of different elements of the psychology of habit.

If you are seeking to understand why you are having difficulty getting started with a new habit try:

The Now Habit by Dr Neil Fiore

If you are looking for ideas to get you started on developing new routines and how to track and measure habits try:

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

If your interest lies in the research and science behind habit formation try:

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Harnessing the power of micro habits is a central principle behind the success of “The Club” Networkout. Helping you identify, commit to and integrate those tiny habits that will make a big difference to your life and business.