To Get Fit Don't Quit

Now that the new year is here, review your resolution and pick one goal you believe you can achieve right away. By breaking your larger goal into small pieces, each chunk will be more manageable as you focus on one behavior at a time. After dealing with the reality of going to the gym before work in mornings, you may feel your motivation to keep your resolution is starting to dwindle. This is the time to focus on what you will gain by achieving your goals to rekindle your drive and determination. It does not matter how much motivation you have in January. If you are already struggling with keeping your New Year’s weight loss resolution, it is time to write down the reason why you decided to make the resolution in the first place. There will be times you feel uninspired, so you will need a plan on how to cope with challenges more effectively.

• Set a Realistic Resolution - To lofty of a resolution can cause you to fail before you even get started. Achieving smaller goals early on can boost your motivation to keep you on track.
• Stay Persistent but Be Patient - There are always days where you will not want to follow your plan but be persistent with your efforts and patient with yourself. Set a simple goal to achieve for yourself that day.
• Track Your Progression - Tracking your progress helps establish a realistic timeline for achieving your resolution. Setting smaller intermediate goals can keep you on track as you progress.
• Recruit Healthy Support - Most often, people are their own worse critic. Recruiting a workout buddy or having a family member participate in your journey can help you stay on track and be less stressed.
• Hold Yourself Accountable - Approach achieving your resolution one step at time by striving for progress, not perfection. Troubleshoot what barriers or obstacles may have gotten in your way.
• Plan on Keeping Your Resolution - When setbacks occur, focus on what went wrong and learn from your mistakes. Giving yourself the leeway to make adjustments means you are less likely to completely give up.

If a resolution is poorly worded or negatively stated, it makes it easy to set yourself up for failure, as the goal will likely lack ways of measuring your progress and will be less likely to keep you motivated past the first few weeks. Since things we do over and over become habitual actions, it is easy to see how important it is to repeat your daily regime. That way your new habits require less energy expenditure and very little thinking. Being specific about your goals is the best way to launch a New Year’s resolution. That way making measurable actions a part of your day-to-day regimen will make it easier to resist temptation and reach your long-term goals. Long lasting change must be self-motivated. You should only make a resolution this year if the change is something that is important to you.