New Year’s is a time that rekindles the excitement of a fresh start. It offers a chance for a clean slate, new beginnings and the belief that a better year lies ahead. With it comes a burst of motivation to make changes in your lifestyle, which is the much needed catalyst for taking action and following through on your goals.
Now, four weeks later, that feeling of enthusiasm has probably gone flat. The holidays are a distant memory and the day-to-day realities have pushed most (if not all) of your goals under the rug. If you are like most, this experience is repeated every January until you give up on the idea of resolutions altogether, believing they don’t work and that maybe it doesn’t really matter if you make any changes after all. Am I close?
If so, you’ve missed an opportunity to take advantage of your desire to change and make use of that short lived catalyst to get you into action. Those moments don’t come around all that often, so they do matter. It could be months, another year or even many years before you feel inspired to make that major change again. Statistically most people give up on their resolve to meet their goals within two weeks, and this is borne out by gym use every January – peaking the first week and trailing back off by the end of the month.
The experience of getting pumped to start exercising, eat better or improve healthy habits and then finding yourself back in the same old rut creates a disempowering scenario. It is hard to feel good about yourself when you’ve given up on something you think matters and your inner voice is reinforcing this with judgment. The good news is you can help yourself achieve success, whether you are dealing with a decrease in motivation or you have lost it all together.
Start by reflecting on what it is you wanted to do, such as lose 25 pounds. Then think about why this really matters to you. What will you be able to do or how will it feel to lose that weight? If it was to feel more energized, why does that matter? If it was to be a certain size, why do you really care about that? If you want to feel better, what will that enable you to do? In other words, do you care enough to do what it takes to lose that weight? Change takes effort and you have to really want the end goal enough to stick with new routines and be willing to make the time. If you are resolved to change because you think you should or someone has told you to, then you will very likely give up. You have to want the change for yourself, and you need something more than the initial catalyst to stick with it. That catalyst isn’t a long term motivator; the vision of what you really want to feel or be is the real motivation that will help you stick with your new behaviors.
Seven years ago on New Year’s I resolved to start and stick with exercising to drop 5 sizes and get back into my wardrobe of clothes. The vision of wearing my beautiful clothes again was enough to get me through all those times when I didn’t want to get on my Stairmaster or go for a walk. When I didn’t want to do it, I told myself too bad, not an option, or no discussion and on the days I didn’t go I reminded myself it was ok, because I didn’t have to be perfect and I was doing really well. Believing you have to be perfect or meet your goals 100% is the fastest way to fail.
As important as a motivating vision is choosing the types of activities you enjoy doing. I happen to like gym equipment, I just don’t like going to the gym. But I’ve found most people don’t like using equipment, despite their belief that to get fit they need to get a workout using machines. Even the term workout can limit your options. You don’t need to workout to get your heart rate up into the fat burning aerobic zone to lose weight or get fit. You can pick any aerobic activity you enjoy, preferably one you will look forward to, and do it at a moderate level. There are dozens you can do both in and outdoors.
Most of my female clients love dancing and really enjoy aerobic videos (visit collagevideo.com), and believe it or not Richard Simmons is still a favorite. Right now salsa and tango dance lessons are also popular. For those that like walking, there are wonderful parks to visits, local groups using walking poles and teams preparing for charity walks. Outdoor enthusiasts have so much to choose from, including outdoor fitness programs, triathlon training, running, kayaking, biking and cross country skiing. The lists are almost endless, and some indoor options that I like to do are rowing, rope-less jumping, kick boxing and using the hoola hoop. I don’t want to leave out Tai Chi, Qi Gong, yoga, Pilates and all the other great classes available in the area that can support your fitness and health goals. And of course there are many types of trainers and types of strengthening programs, so don’t feel limited. Feel free to mix and match. Maybe you like rowing at a gym, biking out doors, dancing at night, strengthening exercises at home, or yoga on Saturday mornings. Start off with one or two of these and add to them when you are ready.
This week consider what you really want for yourself and what you might enjoy most. Then begin to incorporate it into your lifestyle at a pace that is realistic, and build up from there. It isn’t about being perfect or reaching your goal in two months, it’s about setting yourself up to succeed for the long term and getting excited by how you feel and what you can do. You might have lost your New Year’s motivation, but doing even a little bit now can get you back into the groove. Don’t miss this opportunity.
Alice Greene is president of Feel Your Personal Best, a healthy lifestyle coaching company located in Newburyport, MA. She is also bestselling co-author of Wake Up Women: Be Happy, Healthy & Wealthy. For her Free “The 9 Life Changing Secrets Every Woman (and Man) Must Know” visit http://www.feelyourpersonalbest.com/. Contact her at agreene@feelyourpersonalbest.com or 978-465-3555x5.
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