Why Wait Until January?

I kind of think that the idea of “New Year’s Resolutions” is stupid. Why do we as a society wait until the new year to set unreachable goals that are often forgotten about by mid-February. Goal setting should be something that we do regularly regardless of the date! Sitting down and making small realistic goals and then regularly assessing your progress, can be key to actually achieving the goals you set. Let me give a few obvious examples:

Instead of saying “I want to run a marathon” set small goals to help you get into marathon shape, such as “I want to start by running 4 times a week.”

Instead of saying “I want to lose 20 pounds this year” focus on one area of your life to hoan in on that will lead you in that direction. A goal like this could be as simple as saying “I want only eat out one day a week" or “I will start packing healthy lunches to take to work with me.”

Instead of saying “I want to save money this year” you could say “I will make a log of all of my monthly expense to see where I am spending the majority of money.”

All of these realistically achievable alternative goals are great because they are starting points. They allow you to accomplish and become proficient at something, then progress on. Achieving positive goals requires building positive habits. The reason that so many people fizzle out on their “New Year’s Resolutions” is because they haven’t put in the work to develop habits that put them on the path to achieving their goals. I kind of think of it like saying you want to drive across the United States, but not owning a car……that would be a long A** walk and so much unnecessary effort.

Clay and I often sit down together and make monthly goals. Together we assess our progress of the goals we have made the previous week or month. It is nice to talk about our goals and give each other feedback. Last month I made the goal that I wanted to incorporate more meditation into my routine. I said “I am going to meditate every morning before I go to work.” Clay then said “You hate mornings, meditating in the mornings would just result in you falling asleep on the couch and being late for work.” SO TRUE! With Clay’s feedback I was able to adjust my goal to make it achievable. I said “I am going to meditate for 10 minutes as soon I get home from work and before I do any other tasks.” Peeps it worked.

Sometimes we struggle taking a step back and seeing the whole picture. It can be so helpful and so necessary to have someone from the outside help you with your goals. They can provide support, insight, feedback, offer modifications and share personal experience. That is one of the aspects of Health Coaching that I absolutely love the most, helping people reach their goals! Don’t wait until the New Year to set goals and take steps towards reaching them. Check out my Health Coaching page to see how I can help you reach your goals!