Bakersfield.com

Research confirms the conventional wisdom that successful people work hard, and rebound from setbacks.  In short, they persist.  People who successfully maintain their New Year's resolutions for two years report an average of 14 slips, but they use those setbacks to strengthen their commitment.  Persistence is obviously crucial to weight loss, but it drives weight gain as well.  The average person gains only one pound during the holiday season, and only a pound and a half over the course of an entire year.  The problem is persistence: weight goes on each year, typically staying on permanently, leading to a 10-pound weight gain in only seven years.

Rewarding oneself for the achievement of fitness goals is a rarely used, but powerful technique for change.  It has proven effective in aiding weight loss, smoking cessation, battling depression, boosting self-efficacy and adhering to prescribed medical regimens. For instance, it can start as simply as someone treating him/herself for a week's workouts with a treat from Sweet Surrender.  Increase the goals and rewards gradually.  Possibly a month's workouts successfully completed could render something as highly evolved as those Nike Air 360's that practically cried out to them as they innocently passed by. Someone who wants to lose ten pounds could write a check to a friend for $500.  The friend refunds the deposited money at the rate of $50 per pound lost.  This self-reward system makes instant gratification a positive force for change and can facilitate lasting weight loss, even after the formal reward period ends.

Those with supportive friends and family achieve more, live longer and feel happier than those without. This should comfort many who read this while others may begin to exalt in disbelief at their miraculous prosperity and longevity. They also exhibit greater persistence, as supportive people close to them reward their progress, help celebrate successes and aid them in recovery from setbacks.  We should encourage each other to ask for support from friends and family.  We should also attempt to surround ourselves with excellence; perhaps by finding equally committed workout partners (the deposit-and -refund method described above is even more effective when done as a group).  This will also encourage friends to publicly commit to goals, which is another potent predictor of success.

Encourage friends and loved ones to expect progress, but prepare them for setbacks. A setback plan might involve identifying a friend to call in the event of a nutritional slip or workout lapse. Another technique involves carrying a “reminder card.” Smokers who lapse while trying to quit, for example, are encouraged to look at a reassuring card which reads “…Just because you slipped once does not mean that you are a failure, that you have no willpower or that you are a hopeless addict. Look upon the slip as a single, independent event (I refer to these many times as speed bumps), something which can be avoided in the future with an alternative coping response”   …more Nikes!

Successful fitness occurs through consistently working hard and rebounding from setbacks. In short, they persist. Persistence can be encouraged by rewarding success. Rewards for change may start out simply (I strongly suggest Sweet Surrender’s “Monster” cookies) and gradually increase as goals do!  A more formal system is the deposit-and-refund technique, which is best achieved with friends and groups…although accountants and the like must avoid the urge to demand interest.

Ask for support from friends and family and find equally committed workout partners. Publicly committing to goals is another potent predictor of success. This will aid in persistence, achievement and happiness. A supportive network can reward their progress, help celebrate successes and aid in recovery from setbacks. While expecting many successes, anyone who undertakes the challenges to get fit should prepare themselves for setbacks. To help, a setback plan will prove to be invaluable. More important than any aforementioned technique is to always remember that YOU are stronger than you ever imagined and YOU can achieve anything!