How can you make this year different?
It’s that time of the year when we make promises to ourselves to change our lives in the New Year in some way or another. For many those New Year Resolutions are to lose weight, stop smoking, stop drinking, leave a toxic relationship, eat a healthy diet, exercise more. For most those good intentions are lucky to last until February if they ever got off the ground.
First thing to realize is that if New Year’s resolutions are going to work it is going to take work, focus, commitment, and energy. If you set goals that fit into your life you will stand a better chance of achieving them.
When you set those goals remember to
Be specific
If you want to lose weight, it’s better to be specific, i.e., I would like to lose two or three pounds per week with a goal of getting to ? your desired weight in X months.
If you want to exercise more – i.e. I will exercise for 15 minutes, twice a day.
I want to eat a healthier diet – i.e. I will start eating at least one portion of vegetables with my main meal every day.
Be realistic
If you want to lose weight, there Is no point in telling yourself you will lose stones in weight in two months if you have struggled to lose weight for years.
Same with exercise – if you have never exercised regularly there is no point of kidding yourself that you will go to the gym every day for a couple of hours. That’s why gyms take so much money in January when people sign up for annual subscriptions that last a month or so.
Measure your results
Find simple ways of measuring your results. Many people have fitness trackers on their watches and can measure the number of steps they have taken in a day which is good if you are trying to exercise more.
There are many apps to help you measure different things, like calorie and specific food intake measurements.
Celebrate successes
Don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back for your successes. Buy yourself a reward especially if one of your goals was to stop smoking. You could buy yourself a little gift with the money you saved on buying cigarettes.
Remember little steps lead to big changes, so don’t beat yourself up if you eat too much cake when you are trying to lose weight. Goals and changes are not punishment they are taking you to a better, healthier life. Recognize it for what it is and get back on track.
Make your New Year’s Resolutions and welcome 2023 as the year when you will be the healthier, happier you.