Motivation tips from triathlon: 3 clear steps to fast track wellness results

Last weekend I took part in a triathlon.  I entered the event in January when the weather was cold, wet and miserable and I had visions of crossing the finish line in mid-June after completing the course in warm, calm and pleasant conditions.  In the depths of winter this gave me something to look forward to and something specific to train for.

In reality, the weather on the day couldn’t have been more like January.  Cold, wet and miserable.  But it got me thinking.  What makes 1700 people put themselves through a rigorous training schedule throughout a miserable winter in the UK, and then force themselves through 6 hours plus of swimming, biking and running and yet still leaves them smiling?  That’s not even mentioning the 3.30am wake up call most of the field would have had to make it to the start line on time, which was testing for even those of us who love early mornings.

Where does the motivation to do all this come from?  The distances involved – 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21km run – mean that unless you’re super fit or super crazy, you can’t just turn up on the day and give it a whirl, so much of the last 6-months would have been spent getting up early or staying up late to train, eating well, trying to sleep and recover, and all in addition to managing to fit this into a normal busy work and family routine.

Here are some observations that we’ve made over the years on where individuals find the motivation to rise to wellness challenges, whatever they may be.

Step 1 - Strong personal desire coupled with appropriate action

The reasons people take on challenges are varied but what really matters is that you need to believe in what you are doing without hesitation or reservation. 

The people I saw at the weekend were there to prove they could do the training, go the distance, get the medal, acquire bragging rights for a short period, build their confidence, push themselves to see what they are capable of mentally and physically, and wake up on Monday morning knowing they’d succeeded.  They’d set themselves a challenge and they’d done it.

They all believed that taking part and completing this event would make them happy in some way.  This quest for happiness, fulfillment, growth and development is natural but sometimes the clear link is missing between what people want to achieve and the action they take to achieve their objectives. 

An event such as this has very clear parameters – a date, a description, a start time and a finish line.  If everyone took the time to apply the same principles to the lifestyle changes they choose to take on, success rates would always be high.

Step 2 - Support and accountability

Everyone had some support.  Whether they were there with friends or colleagues who were taking part, or they had an understanding family along with them to keep them company (including many children up and about at the very early breakfast), the fact that others are involved works two ways.

Firstly, once you’ve decided on a challenge, whether it be a sporting event, a healthy eating plan or even getting to bed on time, chances are you’ll need support and assistance from those around you in making the changes necessary to complete your goal.  It’s generally quite inspiring to be around people who make commitments to improve or enhance the quality of life so others respond well and are happy to help.

Secondly, once you’ve committed to making changes to others, your commitment to yourself can grow stronger.  You don’t want to let others down and you don’t want them to think you say you’ll do things and then don’t follow through, so this accountability provides extra motivation to do what’s necessary to achieve a positive result.

Incidentally, as I write this I’ve just come out of a presentation where one of the audience reported losing 1.5 pounds a week for the last 10 weeks and said the key factor was a weekly text from a friend asking for a progress report.  Simple but very effective.

Step 3 - Regular review and a flexible approach

Healthy living choices must be directed towards positive results or what’s the point?  And you’ll only know the extent of your positive results if you stop regularly to review your progress.

Over the years we’ve worked with many people who’ve taken the time to make some lifestyle changes, and maybe even experienced some good results, but then forget to revisit what they’re doing, and why, when the results begin to wane. 

The worst-case scenario here is that people continue to follow the same routines but actually move further away from what they’re trying to achieve.  I’m thinking here particularly of food routines that result in poor energy and ineffective weight management, or exercise routines that lead to injury or stagnating fitness results.  But because these people are doing something, they’re reluctant to change their approach.

In truth, doing something isn’t relevant.  Doing the right thing is what matters and you can only know you’re doing the right thing if you regularly assess your actions and your results. 

The more regularly you engage with what you’re doing, the more accurately you can dictate the extent and the speed of your results. 

This part of the process was very evident at the very beginning of the swim on Sunday which, being positioned in wave 2 of the start I was able to witness.  I counted 3 people who were rescued within the first 200m.  I’m sure they thought they’d done everything required to get off to a good start but it often happens in this situation.  They’d trained to swim, they’d practiced swimming outdoors, in a wetsuit and in cold water, but maybe they hadn’t practiced trying to find a rhythm in open water with 850 other people fighting for space.  It’s a shock to the system and can be quite alarming. 

So, we’re always learning and we always have new information to help us modify our approach.  Even if we don't succeed completely right away, with regular review we are always refining our approach for eventual success.

The bottom line

As long as everyone remains clear on three things, the path to successful wellness is straightforward:

1) Be crystal clear on what you want to achieve, when you want to achieve it and why

2) Take regular and appropriate action

3) Review your progress and actively manage the process until you have achieved success

And if there’s one final point, it would be to think about phase two of the process.  What will you do when you’ve succeeded with the initial challenge?  The reason this is important is that knowing what you’re working towards in the long term helps increase urgency and speed of results with phase one, and will also prevent any backward steps once your initial goal is complete.  Plan ahead and keep moving forwards.