Ditch the New Year’s resolution

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution?

How are you going with it? Are you on track to reach your goal?

Statistically, 74% of women and 70% of men make New Year’s Resolutions….

and 50% of those fail within the first month.

New Year New You…

The new year brings with it a sense of having a fresh start, with renewed hope of achieving our dream life.
A whopping 91% of Gen Z and 87% of Millennials set themselves goals at the start of the year. By comparison, only 52% of the Boomers set goals. What do they know that the younger generations haven’t learnt yet?

Typical resolutions include:
– save money
– start a new exercise program
– get a new job
– reduce screen time
– read more books

These are all admirable goals. So why am I saying Ditch the Resolution?

It’s not the goal that’s the problem.
It’s how we approach them that makes so many of us come unstuck.

The excitement and promise of a fresh start can lead to overly ambitious goals. Hands up if you’ve ever thought:
“I’ll eat only healthy food from Monday. No more junk, sugar or alcohol”
or
“I’m going to exercise every day”
Whilst admirable, these are probably unrealistic for most of us. A stressful day at work can see many reaching for a glass of wine or chocolate, whilst a rainy day can derail a plan to play tennis, go for a walk etc

The result? You throw your hands in the air and ditch the resolution whilst feeling like a failure yet again.

But hey, you’re not alone.
And you CAN achieve your healthy eating, fitness, financial etc goals

Change your approach

Going gung-ho on extreme goals is the best way to fail. And with failure comes disappointment and frustration.

My top tips to making changes that last (and these are based on research):

1 – Spend some time realistically thinking about your life and the commitments you have that can’t be changed (work is a biggie).
Whatever you want to achieve, needs to fit into your life so making a list of non-negotiables and things that you can move or delegate, can help you find the time you need to dedicate to your goal.

2 – Next think about WHY you want to achieve your goal. Having a compelling, powerful WHY will help keep you going on the days when the going gets tough.
– What will your life look like when you’ve reached it?
– What will you be able to do, think, feel?
The clearer you are on this picture, the more you can visualise it, the more likely you are to stick to changes you implement

3 – Think big, start small: now that you have that clear image of your future in mind, you need to work out a path to get there. And remember: small steps, ones that are really easy to slot into your life, are the ones you’ll stick with.

This may feel like really slow progress, but, it has been proved that taking small steps, on a regular basis leads to regular feeling of success and achievement which means you’ll be more likely to build on that success to get the next dopamine hit.

I enjoy doing puzzles: with each piece that clicks into place, you get a little boost of dopamine (feel good hormone) which makes you keep going to find the next piece to get your next hit. Each individual piece slowly comes together to create the big picture (quite literally). The same happens with your goals – each step forward, no matter how small, is a step towards your target.

4 – When you have an off day (and they will happen, because that’s life and none of us are robots). When this happens, acknowledge it, and (this is the key: write this somewhere you’ll see it) MOVE ON.
Put the glitch behind you and take your next step forward again.

5 – Finally: enjoy the journey. It’s great to look forward and keep working towards improvement, but don’t spend so much time focussing ahead, that you miss the here and now.
A daily gratitude practice is a powerful way to feeling happier and more satisfied with life.

So, I say again, ditch the resolution and embrace the journey towards a goal. It may not sound as dramatic, but it’s far more realistic and achievable for most of us. If your aim is to make changes that last, then this is the way to make a solid start.

TOP TIP: one final thing I’ll say is to enlist help. Having supporters cheering you on is so important – they will help you celebrate your gains and will also encourage you to keep going when you want to throw in the towel.
I’m here to help you achieve your fitness goals – why not start with a $7 for 7 days trial week? You might just discover something new you love doing.

You’re only one workout away from a good mood