The New Year is right around the corner (wow, is it really 2013?) and it’s time for New Year’s Resolutions!
Right at the top of many people’s list is Lose Weight or Get In Shape. Gyms will be packed out the first week of the new year, and the second… most of January… but then the numbers will start to fall. According to the folks at Franklin Covey, who conduct a survey on New Year’s Resolutions, only 25% of people making resolutions to themselves kept them and over 35% of those resolutions didn’t survive to the end of January. Two of the biggest reasons people have for not keeping with their commitments were that they had too many other things going on already and they just simply weren’t committed to their resolution in the first place.
But you don’t have to fall into the ranks with those that couldn’t keep it going. There are a few tips to make keeping your resolutions easier.
- Be Specific. A resolution like Get In Shape is so broad that it’s hard to keep it. So many things can fall under getting in shape that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Instead, try setting a goal like, “I will walk for 30 minutes a day 3 days per week”. 30 minutes X 3 days is a measurable goal. When you can see progress being made towards your goal it’s a lot easier to keep at it.
- Make a plan. Write it down or type it up but this goes hand in hand with being specific about your goal. Give yourself steps to take to get to your goal and make sure to check each step off as you completed. Hey, even adults feel better seeing a gold star on their homework.
- Be committed to your goal. If you kinda, sorta want to quit smoking but you really enjoy cigarettes and you’re only doing it because your SO keeps nagging you then you probably shouldn’t make quitting smoking one of your resolutions. However, if you’ve been smoking for 15 years and you know it’s killing you and you’ve had enough and are ready to kick the habit then rock on, you can do it. But remember #1 and be specific in how you’re going to do it, it will make keeping at it much easier.
- Tell a friend and ask them for support. Many people underestimate how powerful this can be. Having a friend or group of friends that can help support you makes a world of difference. With today’s technology there are even sites where you can have 100’s of friends there to help support you for various things. Find a forum, an app, a support group or whatever works for you where you don’t go it alone.
- Don’t expect yourself to work miracles. If you’ve got a list with 20 resolutions you’re bound to have some that get broken. Even worse, the stress of such an overwhelming task could cause you to give up on goals you would have otherwise kept. Make a short list of goals that are important to you and that are attainable, then kick ass on following through on them.
This list is by no means all-inclusive, and a bit of Google searching is likely to give you several great suggestions as well. I’ve applied these principles to my weight loss goals and can say they definitely work. I struggled for many years without a clear plan or goal but once I put some definition to things it helped tremendously.
If losing weight is your resolution there are a lot of great tools available online to help you along the way. I use MyFitnessPal.com, Fitocracy.com and Runkeeper.com to track my calories and exercise. Not only do they help keep me on track but there’s a strong community on each site that helps to keep you motivated and give you tips and the discussion forums give some great info as well.
I hope everyone had an awesome 2012 and that your 2013 exceeds all your expectations!
Tim Gets Fit 