Why waiting until the New Year to get healthy is going to fail and what you can do to increase likelihood of success.
New Year’s resolutions seem like a great way to take stock of the last year and set goals for the next year. Unfortunately, by February around 80 percent of people have failed to stick to theirs. Life changing commitments are hard. If most people can not stay at it for six weeks, something must be wrong with the process.
It starts with the resolutions themselves. Both wishy washy promises, like “lose some weight” or “get healthier”, and over the top commitments, like “drop 30 pounds by February” or “run my first marathon in 90 days’” are bad kinds of resolutions. They are either too vague to be useful or too hard/unrealistic to get done, so they do not motivate you at all. Instead, resolutions that work best when they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. We here at NorthJax Crossfit help people develop their goals from the onset to help you best to achieve those goals.
And while making good resolutions are important, you still have to stick to them, which is hard. One way, however, to give yourself a leg up come January 1st is to stop waiting around and start practicing your New Year’s resolution right now.
WHY YOU SHOULD START NOW!
No marathon runner ever steps up to the start line in a bog race without putting in the training miles. He or she has been practicing for months, if not years. You should do the same with your New Year’s resolutions. It will make it much easier to stick to them.
Decide that, after finishing this article, you are going to start practicing your New Year’s resolutions now. Use the remaining weeks of the year as a trial period. It does not matter that you mess up or miss a day, you haven’t committed to anything yet-you literally can’t fail.
By starting now, you will get a much deeper understanding of what you’re resolving to do. It is better to find out in December that going to the gym five to six days per week and committing to a new diet plan may be a bit difficult with your busy lifestyle. Or that running that first 10k by the end of February might be a bit of a stretch. This practice period allows us to adjust our goals so that we can find success in our resolutions come the new year.
Whatever your resolutions, there is a lot to be said for using the next 8 weeks before the holidays as a practice period. If you are planning to eat healthier come January, start collecting recipes that you enjoy and are easy to cook, start walking/jogging a few days per week. Start lifting weights a couple times per week. If you practice now, you will have a good idea of what realistic goals you can set for yourself for the new year and when you find success, you will more likely stick to a program.
And, if you miss a few days or binge over the holiday period, what does it matter? You are just practicing. The big event does not start until January 1st. Then by then, you will be ready.
If you would like to find out how you can get started practicing now, book a free consultation and we can get you ready to crush your new year’s resolutions and have your friends and family wondering how you were able to meet and even exceed your goals.