Revamp the Resolution!

By Heather Milton

January 5, 2018

Resolutions are a great way to motivate change. But why don’t they tend to stick?

Consider these questions to understand why.

What were your goals?
Were they specific, reasonable, attainable and measurable?
How did you plan to obtain those goals… Did you have a plan?

Number one on the list is to be specific. Saying “I want to be more toned this year” is not a specific goal you can measure progress on. Being specific can help you develop the plan for how to achieve it.

Second, it it reasonable? The reason why, is that if your goal is - for example-losing 50 pounds by Memorial Day, that means losing 7 pounds per week. Though specific, this is not only unreasonable, but unhealthy! And one would venture to say unobtainable as well. The trick is to develop a reasonable plan that you can break down into simple steps.

The next step is to decide how the goal can be measurable. It can be fitting in jeans better, taking photos of before and after to measure visual changes in fitness, weight, weight lifted, or a number of other measures depending on your specific goal.

Finally, setting out with a plan helps keep you on task, working towards your goal. For example, if the goal is to be stronger, determined what that means to you. If it means being able to squat heavier weight, great! That is easy to track, and plan for. You need to go to the gym at least twice per week, continue to add weight to your squats, and give yourself adequate recovery and nutrition to improve your muscle strength.

Back to the reasonable thought now. Is it reasonable to assign yourself the task of going to the gym 2 days per week? What is the plan to work this in to your weekly schedule? Considering all of these thoughts will best set you up to achieve success.

Lastly, making change is a process. It has ups and downs, and doesn’t always go according to plan.It’s important to give yourself a little understanding if you slip up here and there, and remember, it’s not over if you miss one day on the plan.

Debriefing on what has and hasn’t worked so far is a great tool to use when you look towards the future. Checking in week to week allows you the opportunity to acknowledge you may not be there yet, but with a little fine tuning of your goal, and more defined plan on how to achieve it, you will get the wheels in motion to get there before year’s end.

Now try it for your revamped resolution!