Stick to your New Year’s Resolutions
January is the BIG month, the starting line, the do or die time for resolutions for the New Year. Roughly, about 40% of all Americans will vow to make BIG changes or another about their lifestyle and health.
New Year’s resolutions usually fall under the following categories:
- Weight loss
- Finance
- Career/ school
- Personal development
- Health and diet
- Fitness
- Stress management
- Focusing on personal relationships
Fast forward 6 months more or less, 60% will have completely failed all their resolutions or just totally given up on them…like “What the Hell” am I doing this for. The excuse for “drop out” usually is “It makes no difference anyway”
You can point your finger at “ME” I was all about that for many of my earlier years. I had 4 or 5 resolutions. I was going to do this and that and one thing or another. Guess what? They all became like “FARTS” in the wind…they just disappeared, left no trace.
“Define your Motivation / Mindset / What moves you”
There are 2 types of motivation
Intrinsic – This means your motivation comes from inside. For example, you prefer jogging, going to the gym, or walking by yourself because you like how you feel afterwards. You got that time alone, the time you did something for you. It was your thinking time and it was peaceful yet productive. NICE huh!!
Extrinsic – You are pushed forward by actions outside your personal envelop. In other words, you prefer working out with your friends, and work harder when there is a reward system or a competition to lose weight in place for example.Once I really figured out what my motivation type was, all I did was “just do it” put myself in that situation that made me more excited to accomplish even more. I got that comfort zone going for me.
I tend to be more Intrinsic, in that, I like my along time, I find that I push myself even more. I get not only the feeling of doing it, but also talking it out with me. When I walk, for example, it gives me “think time” and before I know it, the walk is finished and it carries over to the other parts of my workout. I enjoy it.
“Actions equates to results”
Through my experience, the steps you take to reach that goal is the tricky part. If I wanted to stick to my resolutions, I had to break each step down into smaller goals, if possible, to make them more manageable. Trust also, I lost some resolutions, give up on them…some I stuck with. I realized it was easier to make goals that are “real” and easy to obtain in a time span. I made smaller ones. It was like a 1,2,3 set up when it was broken apart.
Each time I achieved one, I reward myself, felt proud of what I accomplished, moved to the next. My own positive reinforcement was crucial to help guide me as I pushed toward the next step, and the next, committing to my responsibilities. I beat High Blood Pressure by setting my steps in lifestyle changes…I did it.
Deciding on that goal for the New Year is difficult to do. By the time, you set resolutions you may have several of them and very possibly, you defeat yourself before you even start something.
I actually like both…I like to compete with my close friends, family to set a goal and put a value to it. It is fun when we all make our goals, then “high five” each and go on to the next. I like to do some of my goals alone, as I mentioned above.
I kept my actions SMART:
Specific. Having a specific “end result” prevented me from making excuses.
Measure it. My progress, gave my motivation a boost.
Achievable. I set goals as a building block to a bigger goal.
Relevant. Otherwise, if it’s not relevant, why bother?
Time-bomb. My goal needed to have a defined end date, it was important.
“Be Honest with yourself”
In the early years my mistake was not being realistic with my resolutions, thus I ended up not seeing them through. If your goal for the New Year is to exercise more, then start small.
I always had this vision of being this muscle bound, drop dead good looking sexy guy…and “BOOM” it never happened, like all of it didn’t happen. LOL!!
When I started setting goals in steps and working up Instead of planning a “BOOM” 5-day badass workout week, I went for the 20 / 30 minutes two / three days a week then increased gradually. It worked. I found that, as with all goals, as soon as I started seeing what I accomplished, I got more pumped to do even more. However, it was crucial that I stayed away from the “all-or-nothing” approach.
Doing something, even if it’s a small piece of what you originally planned, is much better and more productive than doing nothing at all. I saw my strength increase, muscle tone happened, belly got flat, better balance, great sex life, energy level was higher, I kept adding to my workouts. It all fell into a great balance and I have stayed with it. Now, it is “BOOM”, I work out for about one and half hours 4 days a week. It feels great and I look good too.
It is equally important, to not have too many resolutions up in the air at once. Make a list, prioritize them, and go from there. Once you feel the first one’s in the bag, go for the second, and so on. Focusing on one goal at a time will channel your energy and efforts, helping you reach your health target faster. You then have a lifestyle change that will stick with you…”BOOM” you did it!!!
“Think”
I can never express enough, or kick your ASS in words, that developing and having a positive mindset is key when progressing towards your goals, but I will be honest as HELL also; almost every plan I started ended in failure, I was not careful. I beat myself up with my own “mindset”, bottom line.
My “BOOM” fell out many times. But, when I started looking at the big picture of my health and lifestyles, I got smart and anticipated these obstacles so that when they appeared, I was prepared and worked through them, one at a time.
For example, if you get bored when you exercise, change it up, routines, schedule, music, walk in the country, many things you can do that’ll get you revved up once you put your mind to it. If your motivation method is extrinsic, go to the gym with a friend. The idea is to nip it in the bud before it becomes stronger than your willpower so that you can beat down any obstacle that comes between you and your goal.
“Be accountable”
Accountability means YOU ARE taking responsibility for the choices YOU ARE making. This may seem easy to do at work when you have a deadline and a boss reinforcing it. It will not seem as easy when you’re home alone and skip out on cooking a healthy meal, and order take-out instead or sit on the couch with beer, chips and dip with a “Rover” vac robot bringing a can of beer to you every 20 minutes!!
My significant other helped me stay accountable. I helped her stay accountable also. I know that without her help I can honestly say it would have added years to my getting to where I am at today. Her help, helped me make that commitment to her for myself, and together WE helped each other. One of the very simple things we did was looking for new ways to eat clean, make our home-cooked meals special and new. Another thing we did together was do a kettle bell work out together and WALK out in the country, on different trails and hikes. So find a partner, get sexy together, make your “game” work.
Keeping your New Year’s resolution will seem scary at first. However, with these 5 steps, you can do anything you put your mind to. Moreover, once you accomplish your first resolution, you’ll find that it’s not only beneficial, it’s fun as well! I had a hard time for years, but now it’s like a walk in the Park…HELL NO!!! I still work at it. I have to keep my “GAME” up or I won’t have that “BOOM” in it…Good Luck. Kick ASS…
Later John
