If you’re anything like me, once Christmas passes you can’t wait for New Year’s to roll around so you can get motivated for those New Year’s Resolutions! Or, maybe you’d rather postpone the New Year so you just have one or two more days to eat the Christmas candy Santa left you in your stocking (also sounds like me).
Whichever side you’re on, and no matter how dedicated you are, when you’re a few months in and getting to the nitty gritty monotony of those January 1st commitments- sticking to it can be a struggle.
That’s why I want to give you my top four suggestions, so that heading into 2018 you will not only be motivated, but ready to fight when the going gets rough.
Start Small
Sometimes it’s easy to get carried away when we want to make a big life change. For some people it might work to go cold turkey on junk food. And for those of you who can pull that off- that’s great! But for many of us, a complete 360 in just one night is pretty difficult to pull off.
That’s why I suggest making small, practical changes at a time. For example, I’d like to get stronger this year. My end goal will most likely require me to go to lift weights multiple times a week. But considering it’s been pulling teeth to go to the gym at all as of late; one of my goals for 2018, is to just get to the gym at least once a week. If I hit the gym once a week for all of 2018, that would be a huge improvement to where I am now. It’s a good balance of something I can achieve and exceed at times, but won’t always be easy for me.
Plus, just because you’re starting with a small goal doesn’t mean the changes you make have to stay small. Once you’ve got it down, slowly add more in as you can fit and make room in your lifestyle for more desired change!
‘Want to’ vs. ‘Have to’ Mindset
The ‘want to’ vs. ‘have to’ mindset is so important when it comes to achieving goals. If you’re constantly bogging your brain down with “I have to go to the gym” or “I have to eat a salad for lunch” it won’t be very fun, and it’s going to be really hard to keep that up. A ‘have to’ attitude is a total motivation sucker!
Those who choose to have a ‘want to’ mindset are typically much more successful at sticking to their goals. For example, it’s so much easier to eat healthy, when I remind myself that I want to. I want to because it makes me feel better, because it tastes good, because it fuels my body with the energy that I need and want for the day!
Make a Timeline
If anyone has read my previous blogs about goal setting, you probably know I’m obsessed with timelines, and planning, and micromanaging every second of the journey to a goal. But for those of you who missed out, let me just pull you in to a fraction my OCD happy place.
Making a timeline can really help hold you accountable to your goals. I’ve found it helpful and motivating to write what I’d like to achieve and when I’d like to achieve it down on paper. Something I can look at at any time to bring me back to that excited, motivated place I started!
Getting specific with schedules for what you might do each day or week can be helpful too, as figuring out your workout once you get to the gym, or pulling a healthy meal out of thin air can at times be the hardest part, and why many eventually break their resolutions.
I also recommend pausing maybe every 3 months or so to reevaluate where you are. How far have you come, and is what you’re doing working? If you have it planned, does the next 3 months of your plan still make sense? If not, all is okay, just change it!
Just Go!
Sometimes we just need a little push! I’ve found some of the times I enjoy working out most are when I really didn’t want to go. Sometimes just going once, and realizing you are capable, it’s actually fun, and you enjoy doing it, is a great way to get yourself motivated to go again!
With New Year’s upon us, I hope this helps you get motivated to make positive, healthy changes! And don’t forget, you don’t need a specific day to start. If you get off track in 2018, or don’t start on January 1st- don’t wait until 2019 to restart! It doesn’t matter where or when you start, just that you start at all!