Did you know that January 17th has been named National Ditch Your Resolution Day? It has been reported this is the average day that most people give up on their healthy resolutions. This is an important day for us in the” Wellness World”, but it is also the average day most people give up on all of their work and personal goals too. This is the time that most people who have been working so hard since the New Year become tired and simply give up.
So how does someone go from throwing out all of the “bad” food, habits, attitudes, spending a small fortune on “good” food, gym memberships, and changing work habits to giving up merely 17 days later? Before they jump right in to making and attacking resolutions, they need to have a plan in place.
As a wellness coordinator, I use these 3 basic rules for achieving health and fitness goals. I feel these also can be used in all aspects of a person’s life.
Set up alerts
Set up alerts – Keep the momentum going! Create an alert on your phone or computer to go off once a week with a motivating quote, a small goal to have been met, a video or story to read that will inspire you to keep working towards your goals. Fridays are “let loose nights” for me. – I look forward to enjoying a night without worrying about my food or activity calendar. I set an alert for every Saturday morning at 10 am with a “ get back at it “ reminder so that I don’t blow all my hard work during the week over the weekend!
Find an accountability partner
This works in all aspects of your life!
- A partner or coach that you have regular workouts with to keep you accountable for showing up.
- A coworker or peer that you can go to with ideas and timelines so that someone other than yourself knows what and when you would like to accomplish a task.
- A family member who you share personal goals with, like spending a certain amount of family time a week that can help you reach that goal.
Set a "consequence"
Unfortunately, many resolutions come and go quickly because there is no real consequence for quitting. Give yourself realistic consequences, write them down and share with your accountability partner or family member. for example:
- If I miss 2 workouts in a row with my partner, I will have to pay for their class, coffee, next session, etc.
- If I miss a work deadline that I set for myself, I will spend the next weekend getting caught up.
- If as a family we miss out on scheduled family time we will make it up in the following week to continue to bond.