Accountability and Motivation

Do you give much thought to how commitment is created? What binds us to our goals? I recently debated joining an exercise class, but it is hard with the schedule in my household to find time without waking up at the crack of dawn. Then I thought about doing an at home work out for probably the tenth time in my life. I thought of all the programs available to me that I've bought or could stream from home, but decided to turn to a few online challenges to focus on the training I had in mind. I am happy to report that it worked... for 4 days... woops. So I am left wondering if going it alone is the best plan or if it is best to include more accountability with our goals, like a paid membership or a team behind you. Because seriously, on a day that I don't "feel like it" I've got nothing kicking my butt, and nothing kicks my butt like wasted money.

I worked it into my schedule to do my new daily challenges when my kid went to sleep. I did the daily task from a monthly ab challenge and a daily task from a monthly yoga challenge. Neither of these activities would leave me so sweaty that I'd also have to add "take a shower" to my list of things to do while my kid was taking a nap, so I was confident it would work. On the couple of days I didn't have time do it during nap, I quickly squeezed the activities in before bed (then my husband gave me a weird look when I disappeared to the floor and started flailing my legs in the air). On day five I just simply forgot about it. Day six rolled around and I wasn't feeling it. Today is day seven, maybe I'll do it tonight, or I'll tell myself "I worked all day, I deserve a break." Ugh, why is it so hard to take a bit more control of this?! Maybe I should just take a 5 AM fitness class, that way I'll get my butt out of bed because someone else will know I'm supposed to be there, and they have already taken my money!

It makes me think of when I quit smoking, I had to do it for myself, when I was ready, and when I found something that worked for me. Maybe the same is true for starting a new workout routine. Maybe I'm not ready to be physically fit and stronger... no, that's not it. Maybe I haven't found what works for me!! Okay, that makes more sense. I guess I should keep trying. After all, vaping was probably the third method I tried when it came to kicking cigarettes out of my life.

Okay, now comes the question portion of the evening:

Tell us about goals you set that you felt impossible to commit to, or tell us about what brought you to vaping, even it wasn't to quit smoking. Have you found the secret to self motivation and accountability? Please tell me if you have!! Do you think there is any value to online communities which provide support? If there were a part of Midwest Vapor Forum which provided support for things like addiction and motivation and health, would you want to be a part of it?