As 2019 comes to a close, many people reflect on the previous year and consider areas in their life that they would like to improve in the New Year. A common goal is to improve diet and/or start exercising. Many people fall into the pitfall of setting too many goals at once that are a drastic change from their current lifestyle or routine. I have given considerable thought to how to increase the odds of making a permanent change when statistics indicate that most people give up on their resolutions by mid-February.
Consider this: Rather than trying to set multiple lofty goals that all kick off on January 1st, break them down to smaller goals and spread them out over the entire year. Let’s use the example of improving health and fitness. Pick 6 things that would improve your health profile by the end of the year, such as integrating a new fitness routine and improving your diet.
Your original goal might look something like this:
“I am going to implement a high intensity interval training program and move to a plant-based diet.”
You might be thinking: Hmm. I am discouraged already!
Instead, consider your health as a continuous process of improvement over many years, but this year you will start with something that could look like this:
January: Walk 30 minutes 3 – 5 times per week (never less than 3).
February: Keep walking. Add a goal to stop drinking soda and replace with water or unsweetened iced tea.
April: Keep walking/no soda. Add a goal to start reading food labels to begin being more mindful about ingredients. For example, you can try to start avoiding foods with artificial sweeteners and look for natural alternatives.
June: Keep walking/no soda/reading food labels. Add 15 minutes of abdominal exercises and 5 minutes of stretching to your exercise routine.
By setting smaller goals that are spread out over 12 months, it becomes less intimidating to try to make lifestyle changes, and you can build upon your positive progress throughout the year. When I was younger and would set lofty goals, I was determined to muscle through all of them at once. Sometimes I was successful, but other times I would have a sense of disappointment in myself when I would not reach all my goals.
Over the years, I adopted this gentler method to allow myself the entire year to attain those desired changes. To me, this method has been much more approachable. It allows me to focus all my intentions and energy on one change at a time, which results in a higher success rate in maintaining those changes. So this year, be bold and set stretch goals for yourself and give it your all, but try to focus all your energies on one change at a time!
Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash
