Did you create a New Year’s resolution for 2022? Many of us start with a lot of enthusiasm to make big changes to our lifestyle. “I’m going to eat healthy!” “I’m going to exercise!” “I’m going to work harder to get a promotion!” Maybe one or more of these sound familiar to you. As the year moves along and the excitement of the holiday wanes; you may find your motivation wanes as well. Did you know that up to 80% of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions? We have noble goals and good intentions, so it’s hard to reconcile that fact. It is easy to understand how it happens. Life can be crazy and get in the way of our goals if we don’t plan and incorporate them into our lives in a sustainable way. Here are some basic tips to help you create habits you can stay with which can reinvigorate you!
Start small – and be specific
Goals like “eat healthy”, “exercise more”, or “work hard” are vague. It’s easier to forego our goals when we don’t clearly define them. If your goal is to eat healthy, first define what that means to you. Perhaps that might mean your goal is “have a vegetable at least once per day”, “drink 8 glasses of water in a day”, “eat out only once per week”, “reduce salt intake by taking the shaker off the table”. Define what it means to you and start small. You can always build upon it once your habit is established.
You might want to be more productive at work. What does that look like? Maybe it means answering those emails that are piling up – set a goal to answer at least one per hour. That’s manageable, and over an 8-hour day, quickly adds up!
Keep track
Get a calendar and mark down whenever you accomplish your goals. Building a “streak” of accomplishments and visually seeing your progress is incredibly motivating! If your goal is to go the gym three times per week, mark down each time you go. You will be more likely to get in that extra work-out if you see you the week is nearing its end and you still need to do your third workout. Once you get into the routine of accomplishing your weekly workouts, you will be more motivated to stick with it to “keep the streak alive”!
I tried this myself with my bad habit of letting the dishes pile up. They left me (literally) in the sink, up to my elbows in work when I would get around to it! I bought a calendar and made it my goal to have an empty sink before bed every night. Whenever I accomplished this goal, I marked the calendar with an X. In no time I was in the groove of washing dishes daily because I didn’t want to lose that streak!
Reward yourself along the way
Immediate gratification is a human instinct. It is ingrained in us, thanks to the speed of technology. It can be difficult to stay with a habit (such as exercising or working harder) when the reward (like feeling fitter or getting a promotion) is not immediately apparent. Help keep yourself motivated by rewarding the habits you’d like to continue. Rewards may help the habit become more enticing, and help you reach your long-term goals of feeling fit or getting a promotion. Let’s use the example of exercising three times per week. If you reach that goal, do something that you enjoy in turn. Take a bubble bath, drink a cup of your favorite tea, or give yourself a manicure. Every time you see your freshly painted nails, you will be reminded that you reached your goal for the week – how motivating is that! The rewards you truly want (such as being fitter and stronger) will come in time, but the more immediate rewards will keep you motivated in the short term!
Remember – while it is not always a new year, every day is a new day and the perfect opportunity to make sustainable progress towards your goals!
All Blogs are written by Professionals in the fields of Nutrition, Human Development and Diabetes.