1) Why are your New Year’s resolutions important?
The why is really important. If you have a goal but don’t know why, you don’t have any motivation to succeed. When you know your why, you can expand your New Year’s resolution to include it: “This year I am going to drink more water because I need to feel more hydrated and less tired”. This gives your goal a purpose and may help you think a little differently about it. If your considering several New Year’s resolutions, this may help you prioritise them too and focus on the ones you really want to achieve.
Also mindset is important. Did you notice the key word in the water goal? “Going”. We DON’T want to TRY to achieve anything – we INTEND to achieve it. One of the best things people can do for their health is to not smoke. However, many smokers “try” to give up, instead of deciding not to smoke again. The latter is much more definitive than the first, which can leave the idea of failure in the person’s mind (“oh it’s ok that I’m still smoking, I only said I’d try”).
Record your why somewhere you will see it each day to remind yourself (make sure your goal is definitive and not a half-hearted trial!). You could put it in your journal, a poster on the fridge, or change your screensaver to your goal and/or motivation. My screen-saver is currently “make healthy normal” – my professional ambition. If you are wanting a tidier house, maybe you could have “A Home for Everything”.
2) How will you go about achieving them?
Now you know what you want to do, and why, how are you going to go about it? If you haven’t thought about how you can achieve your New Year’s resolutions, they will be a lot harder to achieve. If you want to lose weight for example, what are you going to do to help you do that? Will you be reviewing your diet? Will you be increasing your exercise? (What activity will you do?) How will you monitor your success? What things do you need to put in place to help you, for example childcare?
Will any of these steps require extra money? How will you balance your finances to enable you to do the activity? If you look at eating more healthfully, take a look at a supermarket online to get an idea of how much things cost. Then, work out a budget based on not buying the foods you no longer wish to eat – the healthier options are instead of last year’s choices, not as well as!
This seems time-consuming and hard-work, but if you don’t know how you will achieve your goal you are less likely to succeed.
3) When?
There are two sides to the when – when do you want to achieve your goal? And, when are you going to do it?
If you don’t have any sort of timescale attached to your goal there is no urgency. Even if your goal is 31st December there isn’t much urgency. Consider adding in mini-targets to aim for to reach your main target. If you don’t achieve these mini targets, simply review what went wrong AND WHAT WENT WELL, and reflect on how you can improve your how to achieve the next goal (be kind to yourself, you may need to adjust your next target to make it achievable). Give yourself time – remember it can take 6-7 weeks for a new habit (ideally a routine) to become established, so a blip in week 2 is not the end!
Also, when are you going to do all the things you identified in 2) How? What days and times will be practical and realistic for you? Deciding to go to yoga class on a Wednesday is no good if the classes run on Tuesday. And, going back to drinking more water, drinking a large glass of water last thing at night may not work well as it could then disturb your sleep (“I need a wee!”) but first thing in the morning is less likely to cause a problem and could easily become routine. I have a glass of water each morning when I put the kettle on for my coffee.
4) Where
Where do you need to be to complete your ‘how’ activities? Do you need a quiet space, how will you create that? Do you need to be outside? Do you need to go to a class physically or remotely? During the pandemic many yoga teachers took their classes online, for example.
If you plan to eat more healthfully, where will you look for recipe inspiration? Where will you get your ingredients? Shopping mainly at your local convenience store is unlikely to help you, for example. Where will you get your meals? If you work, will you be able to achieve your goal eating in the canteen, or do you need to take your own food?
5) Who do you need to help you achieve your New Year’s resolutions?
Will you have to ‘go it alone’ to achieve your goal (no one else can drink that glass of water for you!) or do you need a network of support? It may be that you need family and friends to help you with childcare so that you can attend a class, or go out running. You may need to consult with a professional – a doctor, pharmacist, qualified trainer or even a hypnotist! Once you’ve identified the people, make sure they know you need help and book any necessary appointments. Don’t forget to add anything you need to do on your own to your diary too!
If you need to speak to a qualified nutritionist or nutritional therapist, request a call and we can discuss how I may be able to help you.
