The beginning of each year is the busiest time for gyms, personal trainers and other fitness professionals. More than 12 percent of gym members join in January and 9 percent join in February, as reported by US News. Unfortunately, just 8 percent of people stick with their resolution, according to Forbes.
If you’re part of the 92 percent that doesn’t keep up with your resolution, don’t worry—this year won’t be like every other. Get ready to reset & restart in 2017 with these 10 tips to make your resolution a reality.
1. Forget about everyone else
If your best friend’s resolution is to lose 10 pounds, cheer her on! If your mom denies a slice of chocolate cake because she’s choosing to eat healthier—great! These goals may work for them, but they’re not necessarily based on what YOU want.
This year, forget about what everyone is doing and think about what really matters to you and your life.
2. Start broad
You want to get fit, right? But the question, “in what way?” still remains. Do you want to do 10 pull-ups? Do you want to try CrossFit? Do you want to become a swimmer?
Take some time to truly brainstorm, even writing these broad ideas down; from there, you’ll get more specific.
3. Narrow it down
Once you decide on an ultimate goal, it’s time to get more specific. For example, if your resolution is to train for a marathon, research local marathon dates and register. If you chose to try CrossFit, find the nearest gym and look into its sign-up process.
As you narrow and specify your goal, answer: what, when, where, why and how.
4. Make sure you really want it
Meditate on your decision. Ask yourself if you how badly you want to achieve this goal. Someone recently told me, “If you aren’t at a 7, on a scale of wanting it from 1 to 10, then go back to the drawing board.”
Challenge your goals, and see what you come up with.
5. Own your resolution
Once you’re committed to your goal, it’s time to personalize it. What about your resolution says “you”?
For example, if you’re passionate about animals and your goal is to run a 5K, choose one where the proceeds go toward a local animal shelter or your favorite national organization. As a participant you can raise money and run in honor of those without a voice.
When you put your own personal touch on it, you’ll feel more connected to seeing it through.
6. Resolve reasons it may not work
Chances are, your goal comes with resistance. Maybe it’s been difficult to lose weight in the past because your significant other purchases unhealthy food, which tempts you to indulge. Realizing this now will allow you to plan appropriately to avoid potential issues that will hinder you from reaching your goals in the new year.
7. Put in fail-safes
Once you know what can go wrong, build in a fail-safe, or a pre-determined fix, for specific problems that may arise. In the food example from above, a fail-safe might be to walk out of the kitchen after dinner and stay out for the rest of the night. This will help you avoid snacking on the unhealthy food your significant other bought.
When you plan for how you’ll combat the problem before it starts, you’re better prepared to manage it in the moment.
8. Connect your resolution to your daily routine
Create a plan that can easily flow with your current schedule. There’s no need to skip out on your weekly girl’s night or monthly poker game for a training session. Instead, connect your resolution, and what you need to do to make it happen, with your current routine.
Take this scenario for example: you sit in traffic for an hour every day on your way home from work. That’s lost time. Instead of sitting in traffic, fill that space with a workout. Pack your gym clothes and a run a few laps around the building. Or, find a local gym or park near your office.
Not only does this fit into your schedule without taking the place of something else, but it’s also improving your life. Now you can avoid the stress that comes with sitting in traffic. Where else can you make easy changes like this?
9. Write it down
This is your internal accountability. Writing out your resolution forces you to clarify what you want and gives you a chance to truly envision what meeting that goal looks like.
10. Tell someone
This is your external accountability. If your friends know, and they ask in a month how it’s going, you don’t want to say, “Oh, I gave up.” Once you’ve told friends, family and co-workers, you feel more accountable to making it happen. You can even ask one person, or a few people, to check in with you weekly, forcing you to stay on track.