New Year's Resolutions

2020 is almost over (YAY!). 

This year was unlike any year we have had before. It was tough on all of us. Likely, you weren’t able to accomplish some of the things you were hoping to. 

That brings us to the topic of today: New Year's Resolutions.

Setting goals you wish to accomplish is awesome and can be very powerful. But, like I’m sure most of you are aware, people tend to not stick to their goals/resolutions. Many people love the idea of a clean slate and starting fresh on January 1st, only to fall off a few weeks later. 

The strategies behind setting effective resolutions do not only apply to habits that you develop on January 1st. They apply to any situation that requires a new habit to be built or an old one to be broken.

Here are some tips if you are looking to make 2021 a great year and to make a resolution and stick to it!

1. Start small

Don’t shoot for the stars and land on the moon. Shoot for the moon and land on the moon! 

What I mean is: don’t be overly ambitious and overreach with your resolutions. This is one of the main reasons people fail! Set a resolution that is difficult but achievable. It is very easy to overestimate your abilities. 

An example would be: you’ve never run before and your goal is to run a 5k in less than 25 min. I would consider this overreaching. What your goal instead should be is to run a 5k without stopping and without walking. You are likely to feel less pressure with this goal, and heck, you might even finish in under 25 min!

Doing too much can overwhelm you and lead to failure. We must understand 2 things:

1. Small changes add up to big results over the course of a year.
2. Small changes you can stick with are immensely more valuable than large changes you ditch a month in.
   

If you wish to revamp your diet, start with a small habit that you know you can do each day. Instead of changing everything, you choose to focus on a large glass of water with each meal. Do this for a few weeks and then introduce a new, small habit. 

2. Sustainability

Your resolution is to get back in the gym and you go 5 straight days. Awesome! You’re killing it. What’s not great is you skip the next 2 weeks because you are so sore. 

With Step 1, we should already be starting small. You next need to focus on sustainability. What can you keep doing for the entire year? What is something that is easy and you can’t say no to?

Small changes can create big results but only if you stick to them. 

3. Make it a SMART goal

As a refresher, SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time. 

Specific - Your resolution should be clear and distinct. Otherwise, it may be difficult to truly focus your efforts or feel motivated to achieve it. 

Measurable - Your resolution should be measurable so you can track your progress and stay motivated. If you can’t measure it, how will you know that you are staying on track?

Achievable - Your resolution also needs to be realistic and attainable to be successful. It should stretch your abilities while also remaining possible. If you aren’t able to fit it into your schedule or afford it, how can you do it?

Relevant - Is it worthwhile? How important is it to you? Hopefully very much! Otherwise, why are you doing it?

Time - When do you want to have this resolution accomplished? Set a target date so that you have a deadline to focus on and work towards. Don’t be too slack and give yourself the entire year. Set a realistic timeline that you believe you can complete it in.

4. Have a plan

Your goal is likely going to require some work. Address how you’re going to accomplish it, what information and tools you might need, and when you will work on it. If your answer to the latter is “when you have time”, you may need to reassess your goal. 

You don’t have to create a precise schedule, but if you don’t commit time towards the resolution, how will you achieve it? Set aside time. This will require taking time away from something else, potentially. It could be something you care about or something useless. There is only so much time in your day. Make sure you are being efficient with it!

5. Execute now

Yes, we are right at the New Year, but why wait? If you truly are serious about your resolution and it’s important to you, you will start it right away. Don’t waste any more time not reaching for your goals.

And when you fall down, get back up and get right back on track. You will inevitably fall short at some point. Don’t let one slip up derail everything. You are awesome and can do it! 

Planning to set a resolution? Let your coach know! If you need help with the process, let us know! We are more than happy to help. We are here to set you up for success and keep you headed in the right direction!