Three Small Steps to Get Your New Year's Goals on Track
By mid-January, the shiny newness of your New Year’s Resolutions have worn off. You had the best of intentions. You did the goal-setting. You have a vision board. This was YOUR year…until suddenly, you find yourself off or falling off the New Year/New Goals wagon.
The workout gear you got for Christmas doesn’t seem as cute.
The allure of getting up early to go to the gym to start your new morning routine has been replaced by staying snuggled warm in bed under the covers because you stayed up late last night.
And the buoyancy of meal prepping all Sunday afternoon has been replaced with the reality of catching up on laundry, running errands, and taking kids to the endless string of birthday parties.
So, what do you do? Do you throw in the towel…again? That’s one option, but it’s not your only option. Let me paint a different picture for you. This picture might not be as sexy as a radical, all-in, big-change plan; however, this picture might be more in-tune with your real life. Let me offer you three easy steps that will hit the Reset button on your New Year’s goals.
First – Make it Easy
Our brain, and more specifically our unconscious self-talk, runs our life. The sooner you realize that and decide to work with it rather than against it, the easier it will be to make changes that stick. To make change (whether it is being more physically active or eating more veggies), let’s start with our self-talk. Make that your Easy button. If you think “This will be hard” it will be. Change your mindset to “This is something I can do.” Changing your mindset and your self-talk requires you to repeat the new mindset/phrase again and again and again. Write your encouraging messages of ease on sticky notes and post them around your house, in your car, and at work. Continually remind yourself of your ability to make changes, and your brain will start to look for ways to make it happen.
Second – Start Small
Radical change may work for some, but it’s harder to sustain. Embracing a keto, carnivore, vegan, low-carb, or other dietary strategy along with a bootcamp-style workout each morning might work for some. But the science tells us that change often happens over time. We know that small changes, done consistently, create habits that are sustainable. So instead of deciding on a big radical change, commit to a smaller change that you will actually do every day. For example, committing to 20 minutes of meditation each day might not work, but you likely can commit to 3 minutes each morning. And those 3 minutes when done every day will definitely have a positive impact on your life.
Third – Modify Your Environment
Set your environment up for success. There’s a reason you feel calm when you walk into a spa…the environment influences how we feel and subsequently, what we do. Our physical surroundings are very important, and if we are talking about making changes to improve health and lose weight as so many of us do in the New Year, we can think about three other environmental factors:
o Food: Don’t keep it in the house if you don’t want it. Keep it healthy. We can’t expect ourselves to come home from a long day feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and starving and not eat the Oreos in the pantry, especially if there are no other alternatives. Not keeping the food in the house doesn’t mean you are weak, it means you are smart :) If finding time to get healthy food in your house is challenging, check out a food delivery service. My current favorite is Hungry Harvest. I have no affiliation with them, but I’ve been so pleased to have fresh fruit and veggies delivered to my door each week. I definitely eat healthier because of it.
o People: People are a big part of our environment, and they, just like Oreos, can be toxic to our system. Reduce time spent with negative people. Be sure to surround yourself with positive healthy people. If you don’t have a lot of positive people in your life now, use podcasts like the Quote of the Day and audio books to find motivational folks with whom to spend your time.
o Activity: Make it easy to be active. Put weights in front of the tv so you’ll use them. Put your running shoes under your desk at work so you can go on a walk at lunch.
In conclusion, small changes aren’t as glamorous as a slick new, radical change plan for the new year, but small changes can help you create the health you want so that you aren’t making those same goals for the next new year!