The countdown to the New Year has begun! Many are now declaring their excitement for a “New Year, New Me”. The most common resolutions year after year are kicking bad habits, improving finances, advancing in careers, losing weight and learning how to practice positivity. Every year many of us wait until the clock strikes twelve to change our ways, and every year more than half of us don’t make it through the entire month before we are back to our old habits. Yet, people continue to make the same resolution every year, in hopes that this year their commitment will finally stick.
Others have simply stopped making New Year’s Resolutions all together. Those who don’t make resolutions might be onto something. Here’s why: You’ve already had over 300 days of cringe-worthy dates, disappointing paychecks, and heavy duty moments weighing in on what areas of your life need improving. The anti-New Year’s Resolutions people have not given up on changing their life for the better. Instead their mindset is “why wait another month to make a change, when the first day of you working on the “new you” could be today?”
With three simple steps you can set yourself up for success and have a better a chance at not dropping the ball before the ball drops.
1. Prepare
The first step towards weight loss has always been going to the gym and signing up. Of course, after the first great workout the motivation wears off and the only thing getting smaller is your bank account as the automatic monthly fee -for the membership you stopped using- continues to deduct itself. Like any resolution, deciding to get in better shape by preparing to do so is an action-oriented step. While preparing to make self changes the most important thing to do is research. Look into how much you want to lose, how much you want to save up, etc. and decide on a realistic time frame to make it happen.
Then set up your environment so that your goal is attainable. For example, many people choose a gym based on the best deal or the amenities, but finding a gym that you are going to visit often is all about location, location, location! Find a gym that’s close to your job so you can fit in a workout before you clock in, during lunch or right after you clock out. Once you know what gym you’re going to, sign up for online workouts for women, so that you have some guidance.
2. Practice
Once you have found a place that fits your needs, location, and schedule it’s time to put your plan into practice. Play around with different types of workouts until you find something you like and fall into a rhythm. It’s about building up until your practice becomes an enjoyable routine. It’s not about perfection. Start with one day a week and continue to build. Try going at different times on different days to see which are best for you. Try out different equipment until you find the ones that will help you reach your ideal body shape.
3. Persist
Preparing through planning and research, then practicing until you get into a comfortable groove helps you to build a foundation so that you can persist to the finish line.
Persistence is the driving force when you’re having a bad day or don’t feel as motivated. It’s the voice in the back of your head that keeps reminding you that you’ve already come so far. Once you have this your resolution has become a habit. These steps can apply to any of the things you want to improve about yourself. The key is being proactive. Many of us never leave the starting line, or lose steam early because we think of the resolution as a solution, as opposed to the first step in a proactive decision to be a better version of ourselves. Think about it, if you are proactive about taking the necessary steps to self improvement now, then by the first day of the New Year you will be ahead of the game.
Tell us some of your resolutions and how you plan to keep them below…
