Happy New Year! Now is the time when you can just smell all the fresh starts brewing. If you’ve set some resolutions for 2020, you might be wondering about your chances for success.
Perhaps you’ve heard the statistics. Most well-intentioned resolution-ers will fall off throughout the month of January. And by mid-February, of all those people who had declared to make a change this year, we’ll have lost eighty percent.
Let’s face it; the odds aren’t really in your favor. Which means it’s time for a tough-love moment. Resolutions don’t work like wishes. No matter what you want to achieve, you can’t rely on luck or magic for a change to happen. Change takes effort.
At first, when you’ve just started down the road of habit change, it’s all new and fun and exciting. Motivation is running high. But at some point (usually around the end of January), the “new year, new you” mentality wears off.
To create lasting lifestyle changes, you have to be ready to dig in, work hard and put your self-discipline to work. Here are a few suggestions on how you can make your resolutions stick in 2020:
1. Try a new approach.
If your resolution is a recurring goal each year (but you have not seen results), then it’s time to rethink your approach. Take a look at what you’ve tried in the past. Figure out what worked and what didn’t. Break the cycle of old patterns and sneak up on your goal from a completely different direction.
2. Be clear and specific.
While resolutions like “get fit” and “be a better person” seem like noble quests, the problem is these goals are too vague. How will you know when you’ve gotten more fit or become a better person? Without a way to gauge your progress, most resolutions like these will be forgotten about by Valentine’s day. Instead, be clear and specific about your intentions. Define what “fit” means to you. Make sure you’re clear on what will lead to you being a better person this year.
3. Take small steps.
Taking on a new year’s resolution is a marathon, not a sprint. If you try going from zero to the finish line in one measly week, you’ll probably feel a sense of disappointment that makes you scrap the whole process. Once you have your resolution, figure out the small steps you’ll need to take to reach your ultimate goal. You have the entire year to carry out those small steps, so take advantage of that time.
4. Don’t tackle all the things.
It’s easy to get carried away with the fresh start of a new year. You resolve to lose weight, start a meditation practice, stretch more, drink more water, give up sugar, hang out with your friends more often, stop binging Netflix shows and volunteer in your community. While these resolutions can create positive changes in your life, the tricky part is trying to do everything all at once. The more you try to change, the greater your chances of feeling overwhelmed. Once you feel overwhelmed, you’ll likely reach a point where you toss everything to the side and go back to your old habits. To avoid feeling overwhelmed, take a look at your resolutions and choose one (or possibly two) changes to prioritize over everything else. Focus only on that one change and put all of your energy into sticking with it.
5. Share your goals with your friends.
Some people choose to share their new year’s resolutions on social media. And while publicly declaring your intentions can help with accountability, you might find that you could use some extra support. Share your resolutions with a few close friends who you know will be there to support you. Tell them not only what you plan on working on, but also why it’s important to you.
To learn more about how to get started on your personal 2020 fitness goals and resolutions, contact us at Rhapsody CrossFit in Charleston today!
