HOW EXPECTATIONS SABOTAGE LONG-TERM CHANGE

Some of the biggest barriers to achieving sustainable physical activity habits are the expectations we have of ourselves.

Over many years of being in the exercise space I have noticed that there are two general trends when it comes to problematic expectations: 1) holding overly ambitious and hence unrealistic expectations about how simple or manageable making a long-term change is and 2) holding overly low expectations about our ultimate potential.

One of the easiest ways to ensure that we don't become more active long-term is to expect to be able to achieve it in less time and with more ease than is possible. When those expectations are naturally not met, it's very easy to feel demoralised and then fall into the narratives of "I can't motivate myself" or "I can't stick to something for more than a month" or "it's too difficult for me." And of course if we buy into those as statements of fact, then unsurprisingly we end up acting in accordance with them, which over time creates those overly low expectations about our long-term potential, and thus a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The reality is that making a significant long-term change to a regular behaviour such as physical activity often demands a lot more of you than you might realise. Let's consider some of the major requirements for successful long-term change:

• A set of reasons that feel personally important or integral to your life more broadly and for which you are prepared to make sacrifices

• A realistic sense of confidence that you know which actions to take to make effective progress towards your goal

• An activity that is attainable within your average weekly schedule

• A constructive attitude towards things not going well within your workouts

• Having a generally positive experience of the activities in question

• An ability to regroup and bring your focus back if you miss a few days

• An ability to assess how fatigue, stress, distraction and emotions interact with your participation or lack thereof

On face value these might seem quite simple. And the fact is some people can tick enough of these boxes quite easily, depending on an array of personal and situational factors. For instance, some people find it easy to land on a motive for being more active that feels sufficiently deeply important to compel them to get going and keep going. Others might find it easy to find an activity they really enjoy or take a pragmatic attitude towards setbacks. If you look at those people who seem to be able to set a goal and simply slip into a routine, it's easy to conclude that that should be the case for you too.

However, just because some people find these easy to attain does not mean that that is the norm or some kind of rule. If that really was the norm, we wouldn't have a physical inactivity crisis in the West (and increasingly other countries). And sure, just becoming aware of these requirements could be enough for some, but acting on them successfully is not always as simple as being aware of them.

To use two examples, many people end up feeling quite negative or apathetic about upcoming workouts when they're tired, or perhaps they have a habit of destructive self-criticism. Both of those things can easily deter someone from their workouts, but simply knowing that isn't enough to change them. That's just one example of why things can be harder than you initially anticipate, and the reality is that each of those items on that list has their own set of requirements in terms of knowledge, awareness and skills.

Now, this isn't intended to overcomplicate things - as I said, some of this could be straightforward for you. But if you find yourself stuck in a yo-yo cycle of inconsistency, the likelihood is that you have underestimated the task ahead of you, and this post is about highlighting that but THEN stopping you from taking the next classic wrong turn, which is to then underestimate yourself.

So to conclude, failure to maintain a consistent physical activity habit is not about some general personal flaw or permanent incapacity but a lack of awareness of what needs to be done and over what time period. There are certainly some personality characteristics that are going to work against being physically active, but if you are sufficiently interested to be reading this post it is extremely unlikely these apply to you! This is good news in that while change could take longer and more reflection than you might want, you are likely far more capable of achieving it than you realise with the right approach.

Chloe

Psychology of Movement