While I am not a person who would be an “Animal Lover” I do like cats and dogs a lot.

Growing up in Donegal we had a few Cats over the years and I always enjoyed having them to play around with as a kid.

Unfortunately cats don’t last forever though and between them getting knocked down and dying from natural ailments we had a good few “Kitty Funerals” to arrange over the years.

I was reminded of this when I was walking towards the gym last week and saw a cat sprint towards the road with apparent indifference to the oncoming traffic.

I was convinced it was dead.

But it got through the traffic with ease and jogged off the far side with a casual swagger.

Unfortunately most people’s New Year Fitness Goals end up more like our family pets over the years.

Only they don’t last anywhere near as long. Depending on what/where you read about them as few as 8% of people hit their New Year Fitness Goals and most have given up by the end of January.

One of the biggest things that cause the New Years Goals Car Crash is the fact that people don’t know where they are starting from. No measurements, no acknowledgement of their current habits, no analysis of why they reach for the box of chocolates when they get home every evening.

Remember you manage what you measure and having a starting point that you can build from is so important. Otherwise you won’t even know if you’re progressing or not.

Another reason that people fail with their New Years Goals is they pick ones that they think they should but don’t really want them.

The cat outside the gym REALLY wanted to get across the road.

So it took the necessary action. And sprinted. Hard.

If you’re not excited about your fitness goals, forget about putting yourself through the challenging workouts and making the sacrifices necessary to hit them.

Even if your goals are set up and you are excited about “owning (insert year)” and you have goals that you are determined to hit, you must have a plan in place to hit them. There will be some tips on planning towards hitting Fitness Goals in here over the next few days but a good plan is not writing out your goals on the 1st of January while you’re dying with a hangover! Nor is deciding that you’re going to change every habit you’ve ever developed during the first week of January. Ever see a Cat trying to clear it’s throat after biting off more than it can chew?

The last lesson from the Cat beside the gym was it’s definiteness. It made the decision and went for it. It didn’t stop to tell the cars about how it always starts crossing the road but then goes back to its old habits. It didn’t doubt itself. It didn’t say things (in cat language) like “hopefully, maybe, I’ll try, I’m not worthy “. Too many people doubt themselves and use negative self talk, convincing themselves that they can’t hit their fitness goals and ultimately proving themselves right.

The good news is that while they do take some planning, discipline and effort if you make the decision to hit your 2017 Fitness Goals and actually follow through, the pay off will be huge.

You might even end up having the same kind of swagger like the cat who got across the road…