It’s the start of the year again! Time to break out the new diet plan, workout routine, and make your health a priority with your New Year’s resolution. But what happens when the excitement of the New Year wears off? We let go of the resolution we made and move back into the routines we previously had all along. It does not have to be this way!
The New Year is the perfect opportunity to make a change. I think we’d all be lying if we said we haven’t said the age-old saying “New Year, New Me” at least once in our lives. In reality, a New Year’s resolution is just the practice of setting a goal for yourself and they should be approached as such. Goals are achieved through the conditioning of both the mind and body. I hope to introduce some new strategies that you can apply to your resolution and truly reach the “New Year, New Me” we aspire to be!
1. Understand Your Own Body & Mind
The first step with creating any goal in life (whether it’s health-related or not) is to understand where you are starting! No one knows you as well as… well, you. You understand what you as an individual are capable of, what level of change is acceptable in your life, and what your definition of sustainable is.
This is arguably the pivotal step to creating any New Year’s resolution. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, but also don’t sell yourself short. Either of these paths will surely lead to failure before you even have the opportunity to implement your new behaviours. A resolution shouldn’t be overwhelming or unfulfilling. Look to the resolutions you have made in the past and if they didn’t pan out ask yourself why? Apply what you know about yourself to set a New Year’s resolution for your health that is both challenging and obtainable.
2. Turn Your Resolution into a Schedule
Your health-related goal is set. Check. You think this goal is obtainable. Check. Where do you go from here? It’s time to start building a schedule for your goal! If your goal is diet-related, choose a routine that reinforces your mind to enjoy the new additions/subtractions from your diet. If your goal is exercise-related, set a regular time where you can incorporate more exercise into your daily routine. Do you see the pattern here?
Habits are critical for sustainable changes in life because humans are happier and healthier with routines in place. Take your New Year’s Resolution and break it down into bite-sized habits that you build into your schedule. This will drastically increase the likelihood of your resolution being successful!
3. A Resolution is a Journey, Not a Race
A lifestyle change is not something that can just happen overnight. It will take time so don’t get discouraged if you don’t see your desired results right away. That is why I stressed the importance of building habits and a schedule in this blog post. Habits are what allow us to quickly get back into our groove if we slip up because slip-ups will happen.
I recommend incorporating a progress tracker into your routine to improve the likelihood of succeeding with your health-related resolution! For example, if you are looking to improve your diet or physical activity, track your progress in one of the numerous free health and fitness apps. Tracking your progress is one of the best reaffirmation tools you can use to not only highlight the progress you have made but make you feel good about it at the same time!
Now I leave it all in your hands! Take on your New Year’s Resolution knowing that you have a plan in place that will help you achieve success. Forget the “New Year, New Me” saying you’ve said before and replace it with “The Best You in 2022”. I cannot wait to hear about the goals you reached and how your lifestyle changes are improving your health. Happy New Year!
If you are interested in a naturopathic consultation, you can email me and schedule a meeting at the Lifetime Wellness Centre on North Service Road.