Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions

09 Jan Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions

We are already over a week into the new year. Have you been following through with your New Year’s resolutions? Only 8% of those who make resolutions actually achieve them. According to a USA Today article, most of us resolved to become better people this year. Weight loss and exercising more tied for second place. Other popular resolutions include being more responsible with money and eating healthier. The first step to keeping a resolution is the resolution itself. Setting a resolution that isn’t SMART sets yourself up for failure. How can you be SMART?

S – Specific – Be as clear as possible in your goals. You want to get in shape, but what does that mean? Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to take up cycling? Having specific goals in mind can help keep you focused and stay more likely to follow through with your resolution. 

M – Measurable – Make sure your goal is quantitative. Let’s say, for example, you specified you wanted to lose weight. Now you need to make that goal measurable and put a number to it. How much weight do you want to lose? What is your goal weight?

A – Attainable – Know your limits and do not set lofty goals. If you decided to take up cycling but you become winded after biking around the block, you are probably not going to make it to the Tour de France. Instead, you could set a very reasonable goal of biking a certain number of miles around your neighborhood. 

R – Realistic – Now that you’ve decided you want to be able to bike a certain number of miles, you need to make sure it’s realistic. You still have obligations in your life like work, school, etc. Will you be able to fit your cycling goal into your schedule? 

T – Timely – Allow yourself time to achieve your goal but also set a time constraint. A time limit will keep you in focus, but put that time limit too far in the future and you risk losing your motivation.