New Years Resolution

By Coach Harry

A considerable amount of us do make New Year’s resolutions, though not all. Those that don’t make them often view this tradition as a fad or something that can and should be made when we feel the need to change or add to our lives. The commonality between both groups is found on the basis that personal growth is good and that goal setting and new habit forming is of great benefit to us personally, professionally and socially. So it seems that the timing of when we implement this new personal strategy is rather insignificant, what’s more important is the fact that we make this pact with ourselves and endeavour to see it through. Because whether we like it or not, when we make these resolutions, whether it be on January 1st or June 16th, very few of us actually achieve what we set out to do.

So how do we begin to shape our goals and give them life?

‘Small goals lead to big success’.  That’s not to say that we shouldn’t aim high and devise some serious plans of action, but we need to make sure our goals are manageable, trackable and meaningful. Rather like our sessions in the gym! Let’s say that someone wants to lose 5kg of body fat and build 3 kgs of muscle this year. It gives the broad brush strokes but it doesn’t tell them how they’re going to get there! If we took that same goal but articulated further by saying that we were going to change our body composition by doing 3x a week strength training and monitor our calories for 4 out of 7 days a week, we now have something that is manageable. 

What’s more is that they’re SMART GOALS:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable 
Realistic
Time-framed

We’re more likely to hit our goals if we’re able to see regular progress. This is known as the Progress Principle. Little wins on a daily basis give us exactly what we need to stay on track, it reinforces that what we’re doing is correct, and also by that same logic it will hold us accountable when we’re not. If we’re able to flag when we steer off track, we’re less likely to get lost and far more likely to stay the course. Logging our workouts, our food intake and keeping a journal of thoughts and emotions allows us to review and make informed decisions as we move through our journey. We now have something that is trackable.

Many studies have citied that we’re more likely to stick to our goals if they align with our core values. We need to work towards something that we care about for the right reasons. If we want to change the shape of our body to be more attractive, it may sound powerful when you look in the mirror, but in reality it isn’t. However if we say that we want to change the shape of our body because we love the feeling of getting stronger, of feeling energetic in the morning and accomplished at night, this now becomes a potent remedy that is far more likely to resonate with us than just a superficial, often skewed view of ourselves and how others may or may not perceive us. We now have something that is meaningful.

What must we avoid?

1. Don’t focus on the ultimate end goal, focus on the journey itself. Road-trips are all about the scenery along the way. We don’t want to skip all of that and just arrive at our destination. If we did, we wouldn’t have seen anything, learnt anything or felt anything.

2. Picking too large a goal. Don’t allow false hope syndrome to lead you into setting something that is unachievable. Otherwise it can quickly become overwhelming, and if we happen to miss a few days, it can feel like we’ve fallen behind and unable to catch up.

3. Having no plan of action, and no contingency planning can derail us. The plan creates the framework which we’ve covered above. However, having a contingency plan gives us that piece of mind that when things get in the way (which they will), we have a strategy to deal with it. Bumps in the road, diversions and wrong turns are inevitable, but being forewarned is being forearmed. 

What must we do?

1. When we devise our campaign, our end goal, think about how we can break that up into lots of little ‘mini’ goals. What can we do TODAY that gets us 1% closer to our achievement? Is it lifting that heavier weight in the gym? Is it keeping our average heart rate higher in this workout than the last?

2. Build on the good habits and behaviours that you already have. Let’s say that you’re currently attending one exercise class a week. We’re looking at going twice more, but what we can do is really work hard in that session that we’re currently doing, maximise the effectiveness of that workout and use that as a motivator for the next one.

3. Prioritise our goal but don’t sacrifice. We don’t want to feel like we’re gaining something here, but losing something else for it. We need to make sure that we’re allocating time to our new resolution without feeling that we’re lacking elsewhere because of it. We need to identify what’s important to us, what isn’t and the time allocation required. Going to more classes per week but losing out on family time will no doubt lead to inner or outer conflict and the slow diminishing of our goal. But looking at our week as a whole and finding where we might make time efficiencies, the rescheduling of certain commitments and communicating them can help to reduce the chance of this happening.  

Self development is so important for everyone to embark upon, having purpose, having a vision and having the discipline to see it through will give us an enormous sense of self achievement. No matter the time of year, when you make a pact with yourself, tell others. Empower them to empower you. Be confident enough to share your vision, and to not let the fear of failure shackle you. It’s okay to be unsuccessful the first time you set out to do it, temporary defeat is far easier to deal with than permanent regret.