We are now halfway through January. You’ve set your goals for 2017 to be healthier, richer, more connected, more productive, live out your passions, embrace new things and give up on bad habits.
However the statistics shows that over 60 out of 100 people would have given up on their new year’s resolution before the end of January. 8 out of 100 people will successfully accomplish their new year resolution goals. If you’ve given up on your new year’s resolution already it’s not too late, use the 5 tips below to get back on track.
1. Set Your Vision
Why did you come up with your new year’s resolution? Is it because everyone else is doing it? Your new year resolution should have a goal – your vision. I believe you should have short term and long term goals. My resolution this year is to get back into shape. The short term goal is I want my shirts and jackets to fit again and my long term goal is I want to be healthy.
So what does healthy look like – be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound). Healthy for me looks like I’m 67kgs, my body fat is around 12 – 14% and I’m eating less carbs and sugars in the next 24 weeks and I can maintain my eating habits.
So when I wake up in the morning and not feeling like heading to the gym I remind myself why I’m going there. If your why isn’t strong and specific enough you are lowering your chances of success.
2. Create a Plan
The next thing you need to do is create a plan on how you will get to your goals. Creating a plan is being purposeful on how you will reach your destination. If it’s something new you might not know how to get there. Work with a coach, find some youtube tutorials and create daily steps on what will lead you to your destination. I’m grateful to have had great personal trainers in the past. I’ve got a meal plan (I use a scale to measure the amount of protein I take) and a workout plan.
3. Turn Motivation into Habit
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. – Jim Ryun
It won’t be easy to change habits that you’ve had for years. What you’ve got on your side is motivation and with discipline and consistency you can turn your motivation into a habit. What does that look like? Setting up a specific routine and doing it consistently. If I’ve worked late or have an early morning appointment I will head to the gym even if it’s for 20 mins. Consistency is key here.
4. Reward Success
Not all reward systems work. One of the reward system I used to have was after eating clean for 6 days I would “carb load” on the 7th day. That day I would eat a large pizza and 2 magnums ice cream. This was not helping me get the results I wanted. Actually it would set me back on seeing progress. A healthier goal that I’ve set is I would buy a new leather jacket or pair of shoes if my body fat went down by 3%. It’s measurable and it contributes towards be being focused on my goal.
5. It’s ok to fail, but get back up
If you’ve already given up on your new year’s resolution, you don’t need to wait till 1st of January 2018 to start again. People that have dealt with perfectionism would want to wait until everything is perfect before getting started again. It’s better to go to the gym for 20 minutes instead of never going for an hour. It’s ok to start eating healthy again if you’ve had friends in town and had burgers and fries last night. Don’t give in to shame or let small setbacks lead you back into your old habits.
Also published on Medium.
