When a Backup Plan is a Bad Idea
- aebiscc1
- Mar 25, 2016
- 2 min read
Most of us have been taught to create backup plans in life, a plan B just in case plan A doesn’t work out, whether for our job, finances or personal life. Usually, having a backup plan demonstrates smart planning and forethought and, as just about anyone can tell you, will get you out of at least one sticky situation in your life.
But, it turns out there’s one area of your life where a backup plan can actually hurt, not help, you and that’s in your fitness routine.
As Shape magazine reported in its April issue, researchers from the University of Zurich have found that a plan B can derail your goals, because it prevents you from truly committing to them. In this case, a backup plan is more like an out, and when you’re feeling tired or unmotivated or just really want to go home, put sweats on and watch bad tv, that out is all too easy to take.
Seems shocking, but it makes a lot of sense. I, for one, am 100 percent guilty of the backup plan bailout. On days when I’m really not feeling the gym, my 40-minute drive from the office is spent bargaining with myself: “Do I really need this workout?”; “Am I a little sore from yesterday’s sweat session?”; and finally, “I can always skip today’s workout and go on Friday (a day I typically reserve for rest) instead!”
Once this plan B pops into my head, any resolve I previously had about committing to my workout goes out the window. And because I rationalize that I’m not actually skipping it, rather moving it, I don’t have any guilt. But then when Friday rolls around, maybe I have plans with friends, and that workout gets passed over too, and now I’m further from reaching my goals.
So, let’s all ditch the safety nets and fully commit to our goals – whatever they may be. After all, no matter how much we may be dreading the gym or the pavement or the bike, you can’t argue with how great you’ll feel once you’ve crushed that workout.
Image courtesy of quotesgram.com
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