I’ve never been a fan of New Year’s Resolutions.
I think having big goals and seeking transformation is wonderful.
I also think that most people go about accomplishing those goals is a way that is bound to fail for a few reasons.
First, you prioritize the goal.
Second, you start with a bang.
Third, you have no plan for maintaining once your goal is set.
Here’s an example of a typical New Year’s resolution that doesn’t always succeed OR have long term success:
The “I want to lose 20lbs in the New Year” Resolution.
What usually happens is you focus on your goal weight, then you go all in and join a gym. You go to the gym on that first day and you work out like gangbusters. You do all a little of everything. A little treadmill here, some random weightlifting there. You sweat a lot and come home exhausted. You go to the gym the next day and the day after that, basically doing more of the same.
On day 4, something comes up and you can’t make it to the gym. Day 5, you’re back at work or the kids are back in school and life starts to creep back in. Getting to the gym gets harder and harder.
By the end of the month, you forgot that you even joined a gym in the first place.
Sound familiar?
On the other side of the coin, sometimes you do actually achieve the goal. You hit your goal weight. Yay! You feel so proud you stop going to the gym. And in 10 months you’re back to where you started because you couldn’t maintain the actions that helped you achieve your goal.
This one might be familiar, too.
So what do you need to do instead?
Here’s the short version:
First, you need to prioritize how you want to feel (instead of the goal)
Second, you need to start small and simple (instead of with a bang)
Third, you need to make a plan to integrate this new action into your life daily so you can always do it, regardless of “achieving your goal.”
Imagine this scenario:
When you think about your goal — not the “target weight” but how you want to feel, your goal shifts. Maybe you simply want to feel healthier and happier in your own skin.
So then you ask yourself, what would make me feel healthier? What would make me feel happier in my own skin?
Maybe it’s a daily yoga practice. Maybe it’s getting back into swimming. Maybe it’s taking dance classes again. Maybe it’s cooking more food at home instead of eating out.
Whatever it is, you identify it and choose one thing.
Let’s say it’s a daily yoga practice. Instead of trying to do a 60-minute home practice to start (bang!), you aim for 5 minutes. You add into your morning routine right before you brush your teeth. Maybe if your bathroom is big you do a little yoga in your bathroom to make it super convenient. Maybe you do yoga right outside the bathroom.
Whatever you do, you make it super simple and easy. So convenient you can’t help but do your new yoga practice. You leave your mat by the bathroom door as a reminder. You set a timer to hold the boundary of time.
Eventually, this practice becomes so consistent, you don’t need the reminders. You just do it. And you start to add time to your practice because you crave more. You build it into your life, until you’re doing a daily yoga practice and you feel happier in your own skin. Healthier, too.
Simple, right?
I think so, but honestly it’s a different approach to New Year’s Resolutions than what you usually see.
That’s why I created the “anti-resolution” 4-day self-care challenge.
In 4 days, you can give yourself a post-holiday self-care reset and start rebuilding your self-care one small, sustainable step at a time.
It’s totally FREE to participate and we begin tomorrow, December 27th.
All you have to do is click here to join in and you’ll be all set to begin tomorrow!
You’ll get a few videos from me plus some quick exercises to do so you can start working towards adding in meaningful habits that truly support you.
I hope you’ll join me for this quick self-care reset which will give you all the tools you need to actually start accomplishing those big goals.
