Now that you’ve set some empowering resolutions for your-self it’s time to break them down and make them tangible. Having a large goal that you have not been able to reach in the past is severely daunting. Setting mini goals with dates attached to them will make your long-term resolution come to life each time you hit one of the mini-milestones.
Focus on one resolution at a time
Speaking for myself I have a couple different resolutions this year. Looking at them all at once makes it overwhelming and somewhat impossible. Break down each of your resolutions and create a different timeline for each one. Once they have been broken down, find ways to incorporate the changes in your lifestyle you need to make to reach them. Some resolutions you may wait to start on, that’s okay as long as you have an actual start date built into your timeline.
Break it up in mini goals
If your goal is to run a marathon, break your long-term goal up into mini goals. Schedule 5k, 10k and half marathon races along the way. Give yourself milestones that keep you motivated yet keep you on track to reach your final goal.
Don’t be super strict
You will fail and mess up along the way. This does not mean you have to quit. You will not be perfect in carrying out your plan for your resolutions but you can still get to the final result. The fitness industry has led us to believe that you have to be perfect with your training and nutrition to get the body you want or be the athlete you’ve always wanted to be. Take it from a girl with abs, consistency is the only thing you need. It’s not consistency with being perfect. It’s consistency with taking care of your body, living a healthy lifestyle, and enjoying your life.
Focus on what you’ve done well rather than what you haven’t done
We all have negative self-talk. Rather than beating yourself up for enjoying a night of pizza and beer, focus on what you’ve done well over the past week. Focusing on the positives will keep you motivated even when you fall off the wagon.
Post your goal and share it with others
Accountability is a real thing. Telling people what you resolve to change in your life will help keep you in check. Grab a workout buddy or have your family jump on board and join you for your resolutions. The more people you have involved the more likely you are to stick to the program.
Find your pitfalls
Figuring out what has derailed you in the past is key to staying on track this time around. Focus on the true reasons, not just the made up excuses as to why you failed in the past at following through with your new year’s resolutions. Once we are caught in a cycle it’s hard to change, so being honest with yourself as to what you actually need to work on is crucial for this step.
Willpower has to be practiced
Willpower does not exist on day one. It will be hard in the beginning to change your ways. It may almost seem impossible depending on what your resolutions are. Just remember that willpower has to be practiced and each day will get easier and easier until you’ve eventually incorporated the new habits into your lifestyle.
No resolution plan should be easy to stick to, it’s the reason you haven’t been able to do it in the past. That being said, it shouldn’t be impossible. Combining the resolutions you’ve set for yourself based off last week’s blog post paired with the focus points of this blog will lead you into building your actual timelines for your goals next week. Take this week to visualize yourself accomplishing your resolutions and how they will play into your current lifestyle. If you can’t see them playing out, then it will be impossible to create a timeline for them.
Remember this year is about lifestyle changes, not a quick fix.
Until next week,
Liz
