Richard “Buster” Scanlon, local charismatic personal trainer and Owner of F.I.T Busters, explains how you can meet your goals this coming year.
As 2022 draws to a close, many of us are starting to turn our thoughts to 2023 and what we want to accomplish next year. New year’s resolutions are a traditional part of the change-over from one year to the next. Still, they are famously difficult to stick to, so we consulted with personal trainer Buster Scanlon, a man often seen running through LS17 with his latest client, to give you to the best chance of making your goals a reality.
“In terms of establishing a goal, you shouldn’t be phased by a big goal. Break it down into bite-sized chunks. Set yourself short, medium, and long-term targets. It’s good to focus on the point you’re at, but also to look at the next target as well,” says Buster. “It’s all about how we approach things mentally. Thoughts become things, actions become reactions, which then become behaviours, and certain behaviours decide our destiny.”
Staying motivated is one of the main difficulties when it comes to goal setting. We’re all familiar with the slippery slope of: “I’ll just have one day off.” Luckily Buster has some tips for how to keep yourself
on the right track: “It does depend on what the goal is. People try the same old thing, and then inevitably get the same old results, which may cause their motivation to go elsewhere. You should look at it from a different focus point. For example, if someone is wishing to lose weight, what
I suggest to them is not to use a scale to keep track, but instead to use a measuring tape. They can focus on an item of clothing that they want to wear, so therefore it makes the goal different and more tangible. “Making time for yourself and keeping yourself accountable is a key practice,” he adds. “Time is a very important factor, and it’s important to prioritise how you spend it. People are either time-poor or they’ve got golden handcuffs. What I mean by that is when people say that they haven’t got time to do something, they tend to put themselves to the bottom of the list. I find that if you write something down to make yourself accountable, then with that accountability comes clarity. Then what you struggled with last week doesn’t end up being weak (if you’ll pardon the pun), it becomes a strength.”
Buster challenges you to celebrate the progress that you make towards your goal and reward yourself along the way: “There are no guarantees in life,” he states. “We’ve established over the past three years how life can change just like that. If you incentivise yourself, you can look back and realise
that you enjoyed the journey and reward yourself.”
“It’s all about how we approach things mentally. Thoughts become things, actions become reactions, which then become behaviours, and certain behaviours decide our destiny.”
