Don’t Let Your New Year’s Resolutions Fail
Many of us went through the ceremonial New Year’s process of sitting down and creating a list of New Year’s Resolutions. OK, so maybe it wasn’t an actual list so much as a bold statement to our friends and family members…. But in either case, at least for most of us, these resolutions were things that we truly have a desire to accomplish or make better for our lives in the here and now. Unfortunately, for most of us, here at the close of January, we are likely finding that we have already failed or given up on these 2016 goals. Seeing that many individuals have goals that revolve around improving their fitness level, we felt it a good topic to discuss and give some tips on. So what can you do to make sure you hit your goals for 2016?
- The first step is to simplify. You have to condense your resolutions down to a select few that hold the most importance to you. Like with anything else if you are working on 5 or 10 things you are more likely to drop the ball on 1 or 2 or more simply because it’s too much to keep track of. Now if you are able to accomplish something early and you want to add a new resolution at that time-go for it!
- MAKE A PLAN!! Even the best intentions will lead you nowhere if you do not take the time to figure out how to accomplish what you desire. In reality this is the main difference between a resolution and a goal. A resolution is a statement, essentially a starter goal, while a full-fledged goal has a path to follow to success.
- Break that plan up into smaller more manageable goals. If your plan is to lose 50 lbs you will likely become overwhelmed by how much is left to lose than how much you have lost already. Smaller goals let you celebrate each milestone as a victory and appreciate how far you’ve come.
- Remember that “even the best laid plans of mice and men go awry.” In other words there will likely be setbacks, they happen. You have to be able to move past them and not let them be a deciding factor on whether or not you succeed. If it were easy everyone would do it right? If you focus on each little issue that arose on your path you will never get there. As the title of a book I recently saw said “don’t sweat the small stuff-and it’s all small stuff!” Ok I think that is enough clichés for one paragraph!
Anyone can claim they are going to make 2016 their year, but unless they have the resolve to make and stick to a plan it will likely fail. Don’t let this year be another year of failed resolutions. It’s still early so keep pushing or recommit if need be. No matter what the resolution is. You’ve got this!