I hope you
all had a great holiday filled with fun and happiness, and are ready to start
your New Year! This year I had a staycation in Toronto for a full two weeks. My
vacation consisted of family, friends, shopping, exercising, cooking, eating,
partying, chilling out hard and practicing Spanish. I know this is a lot but I
tried to keep myself busy because I didn’t want to make a full stop of my active
life, laze around for two weeks, and then try to get back into the swing of
things all over again. If you did this over the break, it’s all good now,
because it is too late to turn back.
With today being New Year’s Eve, there are tons
of blogs, newspaper articles, and news reports on making resolutions. My post
is related to resolutions, but with a little twist.
To start, we all know most resolutions don’t ever stick. I know this sounds critical and
harsh, but it is the truth.
Why don’t they stick?
Well most of the resolutions we make require a
full 360 degree turn in what we are currently doing in our life. It likely
requires us to deprive ourselves in some way. It likely requires us to extend
ourselves further and realistically in our busy lives, don’t have the time to
do. Some of the popular resolutions are: exercise more, lose weight, spend more
time with friends and family, quit smoking, quit drinking and learn something
new. And most of us pick more than one to achieve, which is too much!
What can I try to make it work this time?
With the end of the world passing by (according
to the Mayan’s), a much needed break from work, and the start of a new year,
why not try and work on yourself all year long, not just in January. Do you
want to know what works if you just put a little extra effort in?
Only
pick one thing to change each month!
When you pick something new, you actually have to
do it!
How do I make sure I do it?
WRITE IT DOWN!
Put it as a daily reminder in your calendar, put
a sticky note on your fridge, toilet, TV, or on whatever you see all the time.
Even putting it in multiple places is ideal. Then, track it. Literally put a
checkmark on a calendar for each day you actually do your new thing.
What happens if I don’t like the goal?
If after 30 days you don’t want to do it, don’t do
it. Pick your new goal for the next 30 days. But actually try to finish
something for an entire month before moving on! DON’T QUIT mid-way through, wait
for the month to end, and then start a new again the next month. You will be
surprised with the sense of accomplishment you will have achieved.
What if I like my goal? What are my next steps?
If you actually like what your goal has achieved
for you, continue with it by either doing one of three things:
- Continue on with it in the next month, and pick a new goal not related to it, or;
- Take that goal, and add onto it to enhance it, to take it to another level, or;
- Continue on with it in the next month, and don’t make a new goal for the next month because you don’t have time to add something new. A word of caution, don’t go longer than two months without adding to your goals, see why below.
Why should I not go
longer than two months without setting a new goal?
I entered into a 90
day challenge with my workout partner to achieve diet and exercise related
goals from Oct to Dec 2012. My diet goals were: No alcohol Sunday to Thursday,
No eating after 8:30pm daily, Drink 2.5 litres of water daily, and Drink my
chia seed mixture daily. My exercise goals were: cardio 3x per week (one an
hour in length), heavy weights 3x per week and cross training 1x per week.
These goals were selected so that I could decrease my body fat percentage, and
get a shapelier butt. If I didn’t make my goals for that week, there would be
penalties, and there were room for cheats in this challenge as well. The diet
and exercise goals seem excessive, however since I was doing most of the goals
above before-hand; it was not a radical change. The alcohol and eating after
8:30pm were challenges to me.
I created a monthly
calendar in excel with the diet and exercise goals on the left side for each
week, and carried that calendar with me everywhere I went. I would refer to
this calendar numerous times a day to make sure that I was on the right track.
This calendar really helped me but I didn’t achieve my goals. Why? The 90 day
period was too long! Seriously, I found I was motivated more in the first
month, and it started to slow significantly with more time that passed on. I
still exercised and ate right, but I was not as excited anymore.
I know this doesn’t
sound motivating, but the honest reason is that I wasn’t challenging myself
because I got into a routine. Don’t get me wrong, I picked up awesome habits
that I continue to do every day, and it is easier to do because it is no longer
a burden. If I am too busy, I will still make sure I fit it in. However,
because I wasn’t challenged as much, I fell back a few steps.
So take it from me, don’t
go longer than two months without making a new goal to challenge yourself.
Write
your goal down, share it with people, and educate yourself so you know why your
goal is important to YOU!
Happy New Year and all the best to finding a new
(or better) you!
Shameen
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