‘Move beyond anywhere you’ve gone before’ - Healthy Life Essex

“Motivation, motivation, motivation” was the lifeblood of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Motivation was the fuel for 70,000 volunteers, and the superpower for 4,237 Superhumans.

It led to a British tally of 65 (29 Gold) Olympic and 120 Paralympic medals. Now it’s time to crank up your motivation and join in Britain’s Personal Best.

Let’s start by getting psyched. In recent research at the Dominican University of California, psychology Professor Dr Gail Matthews found adopting three simple steps improved motivation and personal goal conversion by 33%. All three are at the core of Britain’s Personal Best:

1. Write down your Personal Best – sign up online, write it on paper or on your skin – but write it down!
2. Share your Personal Best with one or more friends – over a cup of tea (or glass of wine), on Facebook, on Twitter, wherever they are. Share it.
3. Give them weekly updates on your Personal Best progress. These might go something like:

Week 1:   I’ve decided to join Britain’s Personal Best. Hurrah!

Week 2:    I’ve chosen my very own Personal Best – from getting fit or losing weight to learning that language or writing a poem, it’s entirely up to you. (It’s not business: it’s personal). Some people like to link it to fundraising, too.

Week 3:  I’ve found how or where to do it, started my training or found an organisation to help. I’m on it.

Week 4:  I’m doing something on Britain’s Personal Best’s Big Weekend (4-6 October 2013)

That’s it: as easy as 1-2-3 or making a cup of tea. Remember Woody Allen’s advice: “80% of life is just showing up.” But you need to commit, so why not do something remarkable now? Start by watching this inspiring video with its voiceover of Musa Okwonga’s uplifting poem. As Lao-Tzu said, “Even the longest journey must begin where you stand.” It begins there, but then you have to take another, and another…

So take that first step now to answering a question that will soon be on a nation’s lips: What’s Yours?