Why You Should Change Your New Year's Resolutions Before It’s Too Late
Ever since my mid twenties, when my metabolism started slowing down and my bad eating /drinking habits caught up with me, January was always the month where I would try to get back into shape.
I’d always start off super motivated and see quick progress. After 3 weeks I would feel great and was convinced that this was the new me now. I couldn’t wait for the summer because I was going to have the best beach body I’d had in years.
But then around the beginning February, given the progress I had made, I’d allow myself to eat a bit more or skip a workout. I needed the extra calories because of how much I was working out right? And I could just do 2 weeks of intense workout and be back in great shape anyways right? 🤔
Before I knew it I was back to my old habits… and when summer got closer I found comfort in the fact that dad bods were apparently in fashion now.
Every year I would repeat this exact same process. Sometimes I tried booking a beach holiday mid February to give me extra motivation, but then I would let myself go with cocktails and foreign delicacies and I’d never have the same motivation when I came back.
How many times has this same situation happened to you? Where in your life have you struggled to keep commitments with yourself or with others?
Maybe you committed to reading more… Maybe you said you would get up earlier... or maybe this year was going to be the year you learnt the piano...
About 4 years ago, when repeating this exact same process I randomly gave myself the challenge to workout (or do any form of sport) 25 times before the end of February. I included Yoga, Squash, BJJ, Gym, HIIT, Running, Football, Swimming, Golf… any form of movement.
After successfully completing this challenge and enjoying it so much, I signed up for 2 more months… and 2 more after that… then it just became part of who I was and for the first time in years I didn’t have a dad bod during the summer.
Without realising it at the time, I had given myself a SMART goal, which is probably the reason I was able to maintain that year’s resolution.
Often when we set ourselves goals or resolutions, they tend to be very vague (ie “I need to get in better shape”/ “I need to eat healthier”), or too ambitious (ie.“I’m going to workout 5 days a week”/ “I’m going to quit sugar for a year”).
This lack of clarity and focus makes it really hard for us to follow through on these goals.
If you want to increase your chances of following through, one of the easiest ways of doing this is by making your goals SMART.
What are SMART goals? If you are familiar with the corporate world chances are you have used them quite a lot for work... yet how often have you used them in your personal life?
SMART is an acronym for:
SPECIFIC
Your goals should be written in a way that makes it very clear what needs to be done and therefore easy to know when it has been achieved. This will help focus your efforts and make you more likely to achieve your goals.
MEASURABLE
Quantifying your goals will make it much easier for you to track and assess your progress. It will allow you to know when you’ve crossed the finish line. Define the objectives by using assessable terms such as quantity, frequency, time, deadlines etc.
ACHIEVABLE
If you want any chances at being successful, your goals need to be realistic and attainable. Will you be able to achieve them within the time frame and the resources you have available? Try to stretch your abilities while still making sure it stays possible.
RELEVANT
It’s also important for your goals to matter to you and that they align with other goals you might have. If your goal isn’t relevant it will be very hard for you to reach it.
TIMELY
Create deadlines for you to focus on and work towards. Keep them realistic and bite-sized. When we give ourselves yearly goals they can seem very overwhelming, but if we break them down into smaller chunks they become more achievable.
SMART goals will help provide you with the focus, clarity and motivation you need to actually achieve results.
Another extra tip is to frame your goals positively. What we focus on generally increases, so if your goal is to NOT do something, then you will probably end up thinking about this all the time and wanting to do it more. So instead of “Eat less Chocolate”, try “Eat Five Veggies a day”.
Next time you have any kind of goal or resolution (or with your current ones) use the SMART acronym to make sure you increase your chances of achieving them.
But what if I have already broken my New Year’s Resolution?
Well that is the perfect excuse to set new goals. As the saying goes… the best time to plant a tree was January 1st, the second best time is right now… or something like that ;)
If you found this useful, drop me a comment with one of your newly framed SMART goals for 2021!!
