Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a festive holiday season filled with warm embraces and joyous laughter. Read on for some tips on making your 2024 resolutions stick!
Why Wait?
I must start off by saying that I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions. Don’t get me wrong–I’m all about bettering oneself! I mean, that’s the basis of what I do as a Health Coach. What bothers me is the attitude of waiting until January…waiting til Monday…maybe I’ll start next month. Embarking on a journey towards a personal goal does not need an arbitrary calendar date, yet so many of us depend on that. I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s just one more way to procrastinate from doing the real work, the hard work, that we know lies ahead of us. After all, would it be a goal if it were easy to attain?
Alas, I’ve accepted that January is goal-making season for many, so in light of that, I’ve gathered a few of my best tricks to guide you in not only setting goals the right way, but tackling and accomplishng those goals! Not to toot my own horn (well, at least not obnoxiously loud), but I’ve often been referred to as goal-oriented and resolute. This is a personal trait I’m particularly proud of: setting my mind to something and getting it done.
Accept Yourself As Is
The first step may be confusing to some. “Wait, I thought the whole point was to create a better version of myself!” It is, and I do believe striving to grow is a vital part of being human. But, in order to progress, you need to understand and embrace where you’re starting from. Take a long look at yourself with unconditional love and non-judgment, maybe through journaling or just some quiet thought. This step is so heart-opening and helps us remember that we are perfectly imperfect.
SMART Goals
Okay, here comes the teacher in me. We talk about goal-setting a lot in education, as staff and also with students. Any goal you set must meet the SMART criteria in order to set yourself up for success.
S: Specific. Keep dialing it down until it sounds like an action. Instead of “I want to lose weight,” try “I will cut my sugar intake in half in order to lose 10 pounds.”
M: Measurable. How will you know when the goal is achieved? Set your criteria. Examples: Sleep 7 hours every night. Fit into my old jeans. Vigorous exercise 3 times a week.
A: Attainable. Forget about what you think you should be doing. Align your goals with a future version of yourself. You won’t accomplish any goal that you don’t truly believe you need or want to do.
R: Realistic. Be honest while also challenging yourself. Couch to marathon in 1 month isn’t realistic. Couch to marathon in 6 months? Better.
T: Timely. Give yourself a practical deadline, as well as a timeline for the smaller steps that need to be reached along the way. Depending on your goal, the deadline could be weeks, months, or even years away. The longer away the deadline, the more “mini-deadlines” are necessary leading up to it.
Declare Your Intentions
I honestly think this is the hardest part. Make your goal public. Tell everyone you know, post it on your socials, work it into conversations. Telling others is hard because it makes it real. You can’t just ignore it now, or decide it was “silly” or “too lofty.” Most importantly, tell those closest to you–the people you live with or see every day. It’s easy to tell a stranger at a cocktail party, someone you know you’ll never see again and therefore cannot check up on how that goal is progressing. Your loved ones will become your biggest cheerleaders and also hold you accountable (for me, this works even if they don’t specifically ask about it. Just knowing that they know drives me to have updates to show them).
But here’s the cool thing: saying your goal out loud also takes away some of its scariness. You will OWN that goal after explaining it a few times. It will start to sound like the greatest idea you’ve ever had, and you will get lots of words of support. You may even inspire others, or find people with similar goals who can help you along the way!
This step will help you identify your support system. The people who cheer the loudest when you tell them, or tell you they’re going to come along for the ride and also strive towards the same goal. You will need this support system when things get tough, so identifying them early is helpful.
If you need someone to tell…I’m all ears.
Do Something Small Each Day
It’s important to make this goal a part of your everyday life. Live it. Embrace it. But don’t overwhelm yourself constantly. Find a small action for each day that keeps it alive. If your goal is to get better sleep, maybe start with 5 minutes of journaling before bed each day. If your goal is a new job or career change, spend 10 minutes each day researching. Accomplishing small bites is doable, and gives a regular dose of pride and achievement needed to keep you going!
Even actions that don’t directly correlate to your goal can help you get closer. A great example: if you have a weight loss goal, meditating for a few minutes every day can help you cut stress, which in turn cuts fat storage.
Schedule Check-Ins
When you created your SMART goal, part of that process was setting a final deadline, as well as a timeline for smaller steps. Let’s not let those deadlines just drift by, staring at them on the calendar! Either with yourself, or your people you identified as your support system, schedule check-ins. If it’s just private to you, I recommend journaling or at least talking out loud, and being honest with yourself.
If you’re not quite where you’d hoped to be by this point, that’s okay. It’s all part of the process–and actually the greatest learning can be done in this case. I’ve had clients feel discouraged because they hadn’t made the progress they wanted yet. But yet is a powerful word. Real change takes time. Plus, my favorite thing to do as a health coach is identify why goals aren’t being met. There’s usually an underlying reason, and uncovering that is where the real work gets done.
I’m Your Professional Cheerleader
If you’ve been making your New Year’s Resolutions, know that you’ve got a cheerleader right here. I wish you (not luck, because luck doesn’t get things done) perseverance, courage, and most of all, stick-to-it-iveness!
Please do reach out to me for professional support, regardless of the area your goals are in. I coach clients in goals related to nutrition, weight loss, exercise, career, sleep, relationships, and stress. If you’re not sure if health coaching is right for you, or want to learn more, you can benefit from my free initial consultation. Nothing fancy–we’ll just chat for about 30 minutes to see if it’s the right fit.
Leave a Reply