Your resolutions
If you go to the Gym in the next couple weeks, you’ll probably notice every single cardio and weight machine is taken up by eager beavers and more people out first thing in the morning pounding the pavement on a run, working hard on their New Year’s resolutions to “work out more!” and “get healthy!” Give it two more weeks and everything will be back to normal, as most people will have already abandoned their goals for the year.
Here’s the problem with 99% of New Year’s resolutions: They suck. Big time.
The typical New Year’s resolution is centered around performance or appearance goals:
- “I want to lose weight.”
- “I want to run more.”
- “I want to eat better.”
For starters, these goals only address the outer layers of personal development – our performance or appearance. This is kind of like treating the symptoms instead of addressing the underlying issue. In order to have the best chance for lasting success and permanent behaviour change, consider digging even deeper: ask who you are and who you want to be and address your goals at the most basic level.
Change your identity
Your current behaviours are simply a reflection of your current identity. What you do now is a mirror image of the type of person you believe that you are (either consciously or subconsciously). To change your behaviour for good, you need to start believing new things about yourself! Once you’ve identified who you want to be (your new identity), pick teeny tiny goals to show that you CAN be that person. What happened last week doesn’t matter, because that was the old you. The new you is who you want to be. Now here’s how to live it.
When people set out to change their lives, they make a list that looks something like this:
- Eat better
- Go to sleep earlier
- Exercise more
- Run more
- Learn a language
- Drink less
- Be a better husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend/friend
Do you see the big problem with this list? There’s too many of them!
Don’t overwhelm your brain
Humans are pretty smart, but we’re also very resistant to change. The body you’ve built and the life you lead is a result of years and years of habit building, both good and bad. The second you want to build a new habit or change an old one, your brain needs to start working hard to complete ‘unusual tasks.’ We only have a finite amount of brain willpower that we can dedicate to new habits and tasks; when we try to change too much at once, our brain gets overwhelmed and we give up in the face of the slightest amount of adversity.
This is why you do SOOOOO WELL for two weeks with your ten changes, and then fall off the wagon after missing just one day.
The solution: Don’t overwhelm your body with new changes. Do less. Remember the quote, “the less you do, the more you do.” Pick ONE thing this month and work on it. Or maybe two. As you learn these new habits, you’ll learn that other changes start to happen automatically. Momentum rules!
Complete the actions
Completing the action every day for a whole month is how habits are built and resolutions kept!
You also need to set appropriate goals. Set your goals so simple that completing them is almost too easy. Be specific so that you can measure your progress and check off a box that says “I completed this task today.”
Want to exercise for 90 minutes every day? Start with exercising every day for 10 minutes. That is ALL that is required.
Want to cook all of your meals at home? Start by committing to one meal per day or even one meal per week.
Finally, make sure you have an accountability factor and support from those around you for the days you really don’t feel like doing anything. Accountability can come in the form of paying a friend if you skip a workout, cutting off Facebook for two weeks until you get yourself back on track with your eating or even cutting a deal with your workout buddy/ flatmate/ partner as to who cooks dinner if a workout is skipped. Also, let them know your goals! They are more likely to be supportive and help keep you on track if you let those around you know what you are doing and why you are doing it. Looking to lose 10kg’s? Let your friends and family know so that come dinners or BBQ’s at friends, they won’t throw cake in your face and moan when you turn it down. They will probably feel a little guilty inside that you are on a health mission and they aren’t so they may even join you on your journey!
Having these measures in place ensures that your old resolutions are a thing of the past, and this year is actually time for the New You!
Good luck with your goals and if you need any more support or training help, our Personal Trainers are only a phone call away!