7 TIPS TO MAKE SURE YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION ACTUALLY HAPPENS

It’s that time of year again where many set New Year’s Goals in health and fitness and by February you find yourself still in your old habits. If this is you, don’t fear, there are still 11 months of the year left and below we have all the tips you need to succeed.

1. Choose something specific.

The two most common New Year’s resolutions people make are to become fit and healthy and to lose weight.1 As concepts, they’re excellent. As goals, they are immeasurable. With no exact target where you feel like you have achieved something, and not being able to track your progress, it’s difficult to stay motivated or even know what to put into action.

Choose a specific goal so you know exactly what you are working on. I want to be able to run 5k without stopping. I want to lose 10kg. I want to be able to do 10 pull ups. I want to bench 100kg. I want to play tennis with no pain.

2. Be Realistic

One of the biggest problems with New Year’s resolutions is that oftentimes we dream of having a huge change. This creates pressure to make a 180 degree turn around immediately that often ends up in the task being too difficult and failing.

Change yourself one step at a time. To get closer to a goal you do not need to do everything at once. Imagine a railroad track that has been adjusted by just 1%. At the beginning that seems like nothing but 100km down the track, you end up somewhere totally different to your original destination. Choose something small and stick to it and you’ll be surprised what results you get.

3. Create a plan

When – It’s important to schedule out the time when you are planning on actioning steps towards your goal. That could be 30 mins at lunch, three times a week or certain evenings you would like to dedicate. If your plan is just a task on a to-do list, other tasks will creep in front, and you will never get there.

What – Not knowing what to do when you get to the gym makes it hard to be motivated to go. Nowadays there are a lot of exercise programs online or book yourself a timeslot with a trainer to get something specialised for you.

4. Accountability

You have a 65% chance of completing a goal if you commit to someone and if you have a specific timeframe you have committed to you will increase your chance of success by up to 95%.2

Tell a friend, family member or put it up on social media so you are held accountable. If you can, work on your goal together with someone, it’s always so much harder to skip the gym when you have a friend waiting for you.

5. Know Your Why

It’s important you are doing this goal for yourself and not because you believe society wants you a certain shape or size. When you really want this for yourself, that purpose will drive you to carry on through the good and the bad times because it’s for you and not for anybody else.

6. Appreciate and be kind to yourself

Creating change is a process, new habits take time. Mistakes will happen. Be kind to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up about it and give up. Winning is all about the conscious decision to get back up again and carry on.

7. Remember to have fun.

No one wants to do something they don’t enjoy. Make sure you find a space where you appreciate the people and like the activity. The process might be hard work, but the journey should still be rewarding.

References:

(1) According to a Nielsen survey.

(2) The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD)