 Hey, what's up YouTube, AJ and Johnny here, and today we're going to give you five scientific tips to stay motivated towards your New Year's resolutions. First thing you want to do is choose the right goal. When choosing your goal, pick something achievable. Truly impossible goals set us up for failure, which of course is super demotivating. But be honest with yourself. You can probably do more. If you're progressing well and have the energy to spare, push yourself to a stretch goal. The only thing we want to do is stay committed. Hold yourself accountable. Goals matter. We're wired to find a way to hit our target, even if it's a random one. Number three, accountability. This is a big one. A crowd of support has a significant effect, and as science shows, runners actually run faster when running with others. And of course, encouragement from others is uplifting. Now, a couple of years ago I set out to lose weight, and of course that's a challenging goal that a lot of us might have in the New Year's. But I want to do it in a way that really pushed myself. So I got Johnny involved and we signed up for a half marathon. Setting a timed goal like that, something to work towards, and then a race of course fired up my competitive side and got me really excited. And of course, I shaved off the pounds. I've always wanted to do a marathon myself, and so when AJ asked me to do it, I was happy to oblige. And of course, I knew that the accountability would work for both of us. Sharing them out, sharing them with friends, making sure that you are committed to those goals is the easiest way to stay motivated. Well, having accountability is always going to hold you accountable. So in order to have that accountability, you're going to have to share those goals. I know for us, when we shared the half marathon goal with all of our listeners on the podcast, we started getting tips, we started getting tricks, and of course, everyone sharing us towards that finish line. I think it's easy to stay committed when you have a few hundred thousand people holding you accountable. So start a podcast. That's an excellent tip to stay motivated in the New Year's. This is why I love science. Just understanding that when you run in a group, you actually get pushed to run faster. That is how goals work. When we work to hold each other accountable, when you have an accountability like Johnny, you share it with your friends, of course, you're both going to be held to that goal. And I've used this in a lot of different areas, not just losing weight or running races. So when we share our goals with each other, we are more likely to complete them. Number four, reward yourself. When you achieve your goal, it's important to reward yourself. Rewards feel good by nature and they serve an important purpose. They help to solidify good behaviors into healthy habits. What's the fun in reaching a goal if there's no payoff at the end? That's why we love rewarding ourselves. When you've put together a plan, you've taken action and you've completed that goal, give yourself a pat on the back, take a little trip, enjoy a slice of pizza or in our case, we popped a keg of beer after our half marathon to celebrate. Do you ever notice that runners love beer? I have. And actually it's been scientifically proven to be one of the best things to drink post-race. I know for myself, if I go on a long run, one of my favorite snacks, it's a salad, it's a slice of pizza and a beer. And normally people would think, well, wouldn't you want more than one slice? I tell you what, after running 10 miles, one slice of pizza tastes so good, I don't need anymore. Check out his Instagram below to see all the photos of slices of pizza and beer that Johnny's drank over last year. True story. Now, fifth and final, reflect. Running a marathon, launching a business, hitting a tough sales goal, they all require pain for gain. Thankfully, our brains are biased towards the sweet accomplishment at the end, encouraging us to repeat and build upon our most difficult yet rewarding experiences. Now, when it comes to completing a goal, reflecting on it and using that as motivation for the next goal, what did we do after completing the half marathon? Well, we talked about it on the podcast. We signed up for a tough mutter. And after we completed the tough mutter, we signed up for a Ragnar. When you complete a goal, you are so motivated and so excited. And of course, that sense of accomplishment can fuel you towards your next goal. I know for us, one of the fun things about the whole training experience in the races themselves was to be able to have content for the podcast. And what a way to reflect with our guests and connect with a lot of them. I mean, that's what made the David Goggins episode so memorable and special. And of course, it's December. So reflect on the last year, where you've been, what goals you didn't quite reach and let's reassess and set them up for 2020. We're so excited for you to make those resolutions and reach them this year using science. If you enjoyed this video, subscribe below and let us know in the comments what your goals are for 2020. But I feel alive with you.