We’re not yet a full week into the New Year, so if your resolutions haven’t kicked in yet, don’t worry. It’s a long road and we all need a helping hand, so here are some top tips to make sure you achieve your goals over the coming months.
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Be clear about what you want
Having grand ambitions about 2014 being ‘The Year I Change My Life Around’ is all well and good, but what does it actually mean? Give yourself clear and concise goals to work towards, and concentrate on a maximum of three. That’s plenty work for any one person to begin with. If you can handle it you can always add another challenge.
Write it down
Committing your plan to paper will clarify your ambitions in your mind and make it all a little more real. List what you want to achieve, and why, and keep the list somewhere prominent. Seeing your goals regularly will serve as motivation to keep going.
Set smaller, achievable markers
If the extend of your exercise daily is the walk from the front door to the car, you’re not going to turn into marathon woman overnight. Build up to your grand plans gradually, and keep in mind that every journey starts with a single step. Make a goal plan for yourself, setting out in detail exactly how to go about getting to your dream scenario, then take it one marker at a time.
Reward yourself for progress
Challenging yourself is one thing, torturing yourself is quite another. You don’t have to go from zero to hero all at once, so recognise the mini milestones on your journey and reward yourself when you reach them. For example, if you’re on a get fit goal, book yourself in for a massage the day after your first 5km.
If you slip, get back up
Failure isn’t truly failure until you give up. If you’re attempting to change a part of your life, remember that actions have to be repeated many times before they become habit. How many times, depends on a multitude of factors but there is evidence to suggest it takes at least 21 days for a new habit to form. If you don’t feel completely at ease with you’re new routine straight away, that just makes you perfectly normal. Keep going.
Ask for help
If you have one friend you only meet for coffee and cake, but you’re on a mission to lose weight – don’t suddenly ditch your pal. Tell her. If you have a smoking break buddy at work but you’re trying to quit, or a mate you go for pints with every Friday and you’re off to booze for the month, the same applies. Your friends and family are there to support you, so let them in on your goals. It also means you have shoulders available when the road is tougher.
Think ahead
You’ll be tempted to slip up many times; it is simply just human nature. One of the tricks to overcoming this temptation is to delay gratification. Every time you’re tempted to splurge the money you’ve saved, skip the gym and order a takeout or whatever your vice is, stop. Tell yourself that if you still feel the same in ten minutes, you can have whatever it is you want. Use this time to think about your original goal, what you have achieved so far, and how far you still have to go. Often, really reminding yourself of why you’re doing all this will be enough to set you back on track – and allow the craving to pass at the same time.
