This time of year everyone is making resolutions – and the overwhelming majority of those resolutions are health and wellness focused. “I’m going to lose weight” or “I’m going to run my first 5k” or I’m going to go to the gym every day” or “I’m giving up sugar or carbs or fat etc”
You know what I’m talking about. You’ve heard all these resolutions – you’ve probably even made them yourself at some point.
But unpopular opinion – I don’t believe in New Years Resolutions. For a number of reasons, but here’s why I specifically don’t encourage them with respect to health and wellness.
- They set you up for failure.
- They encourage an “all or nothing” mentality.
- They put a deadline on your success.
When you have decided to make a lifestyle change, whatever that change may be, it should be attainable. It should be something that you can actually work towards. It should be something that makes a valuable change in your life that you can sustain.
Here are the stats for 2023:
- 23% of people quit their resolution by the first week of January
- 43% quit by the end of January
- Only 9% of resolutions are attained
- And the vast majority of these people wait until the following January to try again.
So what should you do instead?
If you have decided that you need to make an adjustment to some aspect of your health and wellness, here’s a plan for success:
Be confident in your reason for making this change. Knowing your “why” is going to keep you going even when you’ve lost your initial momentum.
Decide when you yourself are ready to make this adjustment. This should not be related to some arbitrary date on a calendar – it’s a personal decision.
Start small. Human nature is to go all-in, and for some people that does work. But most of us need baby steps. Set your “big goal” and then set smaller goals to build up to the big one. For example, if you want to start pilates, don’t attend every single day on week one. Maybe start with one or two classes a week. As you get stronger you can always add on extra classes.
Choose something you love. Many people that want to add activity to their lifestyle start with a gym membership. And that works for lots of people. But it doesn’t work for everyone. If you are trying to be more active, but you hate the gym, find something different! Spend some time trying new things until you find the thing you love. Maybe something as simple as going for walks ends up being your thing – it doesn’t need to be fancy or expensive to be successful.
Don’t give up! The all or nothing mentality tells us that if we miss a goal once, it’s over. But that’s not how it actually works! Maybe your goal is to go to the gym for a half hour 3 times a week. But what happens if you miss one day? Do you just give up on your goal entirely and never go to the gym again? No!!!!! You go for your next scheduled session. And the next. And the next. And then maybe you miss another one. But you keep going!!!
Be flexible. You might find yourself getting bored of your chosen activity. Or maybe it’s a weather-dependent activity. Or maybe your studio closes for vacation. Have a backup plan! Be willing to try something new, even if it’s just temporarily for a week or two. Giving yourself the option of doing a different activity will keep you consistent, which is so important. It’s easier to keep going than it is to get started all over again.
Have you successfully made a lifestyle change? How did you do it? What tips for success helped you reach your goal? How did you overcome setbacks?