8 Ways to Hold Yourself Accountable
If you were asked if cycling was important to you or if it is good for your health and mental wellbeing, I guess you would answer yes! So why do we sometimes not do it as much as we want? Why do we end up prioritising other things that are not as important to us?
In my experience working with hundreds of individuals, the key is accountability. We’re often willing to let ourselves down time after time, but when someone else is counting on us, we will do it.
We justify why we can’t get out on our bike, we make excuses for why we have to skip the turbo today. Meanwhile, we’re subconsciously cataloging every time we didn’t show up for ourselves as just another failure, and over time, we begin to see ourselves as incapable, inept, and weak-minded.
So how do we stop letting ourselves down and create a safety net for reaching our goals?
Engage in the community. The cycling community want to help you! We all want a buddy to go out cycling with, so support them to support you.
Set reminders on your phone. Schedule your workouts like appointments you can’t miss. Set an alarm for when you need to start prepping for your ride so that you don’t look at the clock and realise you don't have time to prepare.
Work with a coach and tell them when you are planning on doing your workout or if you need to change the schedule. By putting your intentions out there, you have created an expectation that you will want to follow through on.
Print off a calendar, hang it in a visible spot and cross off the days that you completed your workouts. It’s satisfying to see your efforts adding up and will reinforce your intentions to keep going!
Share your story on social media or another public forum. There’s something to be said for putting it all out there! Even if no one on social media follows up with you on your progress, making a claim publicly will make you more likely to keep your word.
Regularly review and set new goals.
Constantly remind yourself of your “why.” A goal is great, but if we don’t know why we want to reach it, it doesn’t mean much. Ask yourself why you want to focus on your cycling. How will it impact your life? How will it make you feel? It doesn’t hurt to do some visualization either. Mentally imagine yourself as the person you see yourself as if your goals are met and you are surging up that hill. Once you have a solid “why,” remind yourself of it daily so that you internalize it and keep it close to your heart.
Reward yourself for reaching micro-goals. Everyone likes a prize, right? Set micro-goals along the path to your BIG goals and reward yourself for hitting those milestones along the way.
To talk with me about your cycling goals Book a Free Discovery Call