It was the first day of 2023, and you decided New Year resolutions are going to be your thing for 2023. You get out your pen and paper, or even better you dragged yourself to the store and bought a journal, you start to scribble down some goal ideas like; I want to lose weight, xx kg and for real this time, I want to be more active daily, I want to feel better about myself, I’m going to focus on me this year…
All admirable goals, but how do you, in reality, achieve them?
What steps do you need to take?
You’re not too sure, do I join a 24/7 gym – it’s always open I won’t have an excuse not to go, I’ll look at what I eat and improve by eating more healthy foods, I’ll stop eating junk food. I’ll be more open with my partner/family/friends about where I’m at and how am I going to look after myself more this year.
Then the 1st of March comes around, and you realise most of your good intentions are gone. You get discouraged and wonder what happened to the committed person you were on the 1st of January… where did that person go?
Here’s the thing, goals don’t achieve themselves.
We need to put more effort into their creation and how we implement them.
So yes, have the goals but break them down into small, more achievable actions you can commit to. An example – joining that 24/7 gym. Be realistic about what you can achieve and keep doing.
Example steps to achieving your goal of losing weight and becoming more active:
- I will use a PT to set a realistic exercise plan for myself
- Commit to using the exercise plan each session and stick to the plan
- Commit to going at least twice a week for the first month
- Give yourself a rating at the end of this month. Don’t give up, add an extra day
- Commit to going three times a week for the next two months
- Give yourself a rating at the end of this month. Now here’s the thing, you may be at your limit when it comes to the gym, so our suggestion is to find an activity that you can do outside the gym. Maybe ride a bike, go hiking with family/friends, or start playing a sport once a week/fortnight. What we are saying is to mix it up. Being a gym junkie isn’t for everyone.
- In 2 months, you’ve hit the end of March, and WOW you’re still on the road to your goal. You can tell you’ve lost weight as now you feel better about yourself and your gym membership isn’t going to waste.
By the end of June, you realise you’ve had some ups and downs, slips and slides on your way to achieving your New Year’s resolutions – but damn it, you are in a better place than you were on Jan 1.
This is something to Celebrate! Smile, Dance and Scream out with joy
You Did It!
Some extra reading: