OK so today is the third day of the new year and like so many of you I have made my list of new year’s resolutions for the upcoming year. Except this year I decided to do things a little bit different from years past. I always have at least five resolutions that I plan on going for and they all sound something like “I want to go to the gym more often”, or “I want to make six figures with my business this year”. While I do accomplish some of my new year’s resolutions to a certain extent I never fully accomplish any of them. Why? Because they are typically not specific enough and the ones I don’t make never have a plan laid out on how I want to achieve my goals. I’m telling you this because it is a mistake that I have been making for my whole life and only just now learned to properly correct. When you go to make your resolutions write out specific goals like “I want to lose fifty pounds by June and I’m going to slower my calorie intake to 1,500 per day and do 7 hours of cardio per week to lose enough weight in time”. Even if you have already written yours down go ahead and take another look at it and see if it is specific enough with a plan on how you want to get there. The more specific and detailed the better the odds are that you will follow through on it and make it a reality. By making it that detailed with a plan and writing it down you hold yourself accountable for your resolutions.
A year is a long time and during that time things can change and it is really easy to lose sight of your goals or lose motivation along the way. Ever heard of the huge crowds of people flocking to the gym in January as part of their resolutions for weight loss only to give up a month later? That’s exactly what I’m talking about so know when you are writing out your resolutions that they can take months or even the entire year to achieve. What I found really helpful is to write them down in a place where you will see it on a daily basis. Attach a picture of the end result to that resolution to help you visualize the end result. If your goal is to save up and buy a new camaro then print out a picture of that sweet new ride and carry it around in your wallet or car. I spend my days working on my computer so I like to stick pictures on the top of my laptop and set them on a slideshow for my desktop wall paper to see them every day and remind me what I’m working for.
Good luck to all of you with your resolutions and especially to those who are looking to make this the year you seriously take on your fitness goals and stick to it. At the end when all is said and done you can look back at moments like this when you first wrote down your new year’s resolution as the start of your journey to a new you and a better life. I too am going on a fitness journey and will post my progress as the year goes on to hopefully motivate any of you going through the same grind.
