This New Year, why not resolve to do something a little bit different? You could resolve to treat yourself well with delicious food that is super-nourishing, too. You could resolve to create a plan of activity for your family that is, primarily, fun. And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, this year's resolutions will be the ones that you'll actually keep!
How to move your New Year’s resolutions into the 50% that succeed!
How many times have we all proclaimed (almost brazenly!) – to ourselves and to friends - lists of positive, well intentioned New Year's Resolutions which we ‘resolve to include in our lives with energy, spirit, enthusiasm, passion and intent, and yet, statistically many resolutions are set to fail, before they’ve actually commenced! An American study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology estimated that, every New Year, some 50 percent of the population makes resolutions around things like weight loss, exercise, smoking and finances but 6-8 weeks later their promises are backsliding.
And yet, thankfully, Hope Springs Eternal.
So what can we do, to give ourselves a better chance of maintaining our resolve?
Create an ‘Area of Focus’
Peter Bregman, writing in the Harvard Business Review, has offered insights into why the setting of specific goals often fail; ‘we’re taught to make them very specific, very measurable and time-bound .... but it turns out that those very characteristics are precisely the reasons goals can backfire’. Indeed, 6-8 weeks on when we haven’t met those high achieving goals we confidently proclaimed at the start of the New Year, we frequently begin to cheat, bluff ourselves, and lose momentum!
Bergman proposes: ‘Instead of identifying goals, consider identifying Areas of Focus’.
- an Area of Focus establishes activities you want to spend your time doing; a goal defines an outcome you want to achieve.
- an Area of Focus is a path; a goal is a result.
- an Area of Focus settles you into the present; a goal points to a future you intend to reach.
And the beauty of the final outcome is that by narrowing the focus, our resolve becomes real and habit forming.
And we can certainly see the benefits of aiming to maintain a healthy lifestyle rather than introducing harsh exercise regimes and punitive crash diets. It makes sense for healthy habits to be an everyday part of life rather than things that are introduced in a panic on the first of January only to be abandoned a short time later. Having a buddy to support you in your healthy endeavours is an excellent idea, too. You can share hints and tips. You can celebrate successes and learn from failures. You can cheer each other on, to keep focused and stay committed, when the going gets tough.
Five inspirational tips
If you're in need of a little inspiration, our Healthy Living Guide is an excellent place to start.
If you rely on your motivation alone, that life-affirming, energy-boosting, healthy-weight-maintaining exercise session may never happen! So here are 5 tips on creating a winter activity plan that will help you keep to your Area of Focus in check.
- Change your behaviour by changing your thinking – exercise isn't a chore, it's fun!
- Dig out the high-vis, a brisk walk can be refreshing on a cold and crisp evening.
- Discover your inner child. If we're lucky enough to have snow, get out there and play!
- Sign up for a course. Something fun, like a jive class. Something soothing, like yoga. Whatever floats your boat.
- And finally, if the weather really is too foul to leave the house, YouTube is chock-full of workout videos for all ages, tastes and fitness levels.
