With the New Year comes the stereotypical new years resolutions, they have been around for numerous years without much success at actually improving an invidividual's life. We believe that the new year is like starting over with a clean slate and the perfect oppurtunity to make those lifestyle changes that we have been thinking about. While this might be the case we can't discount the previous year for all the experiences it has given us. Rather than wiping that year away we should take the positives from it and look forward to creating new experiences in this coming year. As an example of what wiping out the previous 80% of people who join a typical gym will no longer be a member of that gym within 5 months! Now there can be numerous reasons for this drop off but it does show that your passion and drive towards your goals wears off as the year goes on. What can we do about this?
Set goals that are meaningful to you and regularly review them! It comes down to two simple things. 1. We must make goals that are tied to something that means something to us. If we want to lose weight, why do we want to lose weight? How does this improve our life? If we want to improve our health, why do we want to do that, what's that deep reason that will help us push through some difficulty towards the goal? If you are setting some new years goals make sure to take the time to write them down and then dig deeper into why those goals mean so much to you personally! 2. Any goal needs to be reviewed regularly as circumstances change and we need to be reminded we are on the right track. We suggest every 3 months at least to review your progress and see if your goals are still enough to motivate you! Below are some ideas for what you could structure your goals around.
Goal setting ideas:
Physical health. Set some goals around your physical health, how much movement you want to do, do you want to do an event, do you want to get stronger, lose weight, improve your blood pressure? Remember to make them specific and measurable. If you want to lose weight, how much and by when and then why do you want to lose weight. Apply this method to any goal you set.
Nutrition. Do you need to improve your nutrition? It doesn't have to be a complete overall of the way you eat but you could start with something as simple as eating an extra piece of fruit each week or swapping one not so great meal with another healthier option. Start with those smaller achievable goals and with each review you can develop them further.
Social. What goals can we make around our social health? Do you need to make a regular time to catch up with friends and family? Make time to do something with your friends so that you remain a part of your community and feel that connection with other people.
Spiritual. What can you do that brings you joy and peace? Is it reading a book, meditating or going for a walk, having a sleep in? Set some goals around finding time for just you doing something that makes you happy.
New year new you isn't the best description to take into the new year. The previous years experiences add to your collection of knowledge and enables you to think about things differently. The new year is a good time to set some measurable goals that mean something to you to make this year your best yet!
As always if you need any help with anything mentioned here our team of exercise physiologists are skilled, knowledgeable and ready to help. www.nextstepnz.com/contact
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