New Year New What?!?
Happy New Year!
Technically, over here it happens tomorrow……well, if I’m VERY technical it happens day after tomorrow and now you know I write these blog posts early Image may be NSFW.
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I have heard from so many people who have had it up to HERE with 2019 and are ready to move on already. How do you feel about your previous year?
THE STRUGGLE
If I had to pick a word for 2019 it would be OVERWHELM
Side note: my word for 2020 is SIMPLIFY (more on that later)
Why is it so hard to reach goals?
Well, maybe we are using the wrong approach…..
Let’s look at a common example.
“THIS IS IT! THIS is the year I lose those 40 pounds and get in the best shape of my life. I’m joining a gym, cleaning out my pantry and fridge, saying GOODBYE to sugar and my beloved wine. I will hit the gym at least 5 days per week and do my strength training followed by cardio. I’m going to stick to eating protein and veggies and I will limit my carbs…..because carbs obviously work for the devil. I will stop drinking sodas and stop going out with my girlfriends. I will log every single morsel I put in my mouth. OH! And I’ll start with a CLEANSE to get all the junk out. YES! THIS IS MY YEAR!”
Does this sound familiar?
Maybe this has been you OR you know somebody who does this.
This passionate expression of goals can be quickly followed by something a little different.
- You start the first couple of weeks strong and vow to wake up early and GET IT DONE.
- After a couple of weeks though, you find yourself lacking in energy and your passion for your goal is no longer enough fuel.
- You begin to get aggravated that your husband and kids can seemingly eat whatever they want while you have been whittled down to salads and chicken.
- You begin to hit snooze one too many times in the mornings and are now struggling through workouts after work.
- You struggle sleeping at night because your later workouts are keeping you a little too pumped….or maybe you experimented with that pre-workout the ripped lady at your new gym told you about.
- You are sore ALL THE TIME.
- You no longer look forward to your workouts because you’re tired and can never seem to outrun the soreness.
- You get anxious when your husband mentions a date night because you aren’t sure what you can or should eat.
- You’re feeling out of sorts and are easily thrown off balance.
- You can’t quite get a handle on your emotions.
- AND THEN….
- You step on the scale for your weekly weigh in and you’ve gained 2 pounds.
- And that is when it all comes crashing down.
- You’ve failed.
- Again.
- This will never happen.
- You feel stuck, and angry at yourself, and to top things off you think you’re getting sick.
Does anybody feel this in their soul?????
I know I do!
This was me for YEARS. No matter what shape I was in, each year brought the “opportunity” to be a better me. I had to work harder, faster, get bigger, get smaller, make something more of myself….
You’re not alone and there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with you.
We all seem to fall victim to these New Year responses. It’s conditioning at its finest.
You’re probably already neck deep in emails and ads for weight loss, training, programs, etc. Yeah, I do that stuff BUT I consciously decided against all the propaganda posting and emailing to make a dime. It’s sending all of us the wrong message.
Here’s the deal: reaching your health and fitness goals should be one of the MOST uncomplicated parts of your life, but we have made it complicated.
The fitness industry complicates it to keep people coming back for more.
People complicate it to make excuses as to why we don’t reach our goals.
BUT
It’s not complicated, and today I have 4 tips for you on how to reach ANY goal you set for yourself.
#1 Set the RIGHT goals for you.
I have some worksheets to help you with this! Set up goals that are personal to YOU. Don’t look to your favorite insta-influencer….think about YOU.
I work with a lot of people who simply want to MOVE WELL. Being able to sit and stand and get on and off the floor is essential to health. Maybe those are good goals. Whatever the goal, make sure it is personal to you.
Once you’ve narrowed down some goals, put on your Sherlock Holmes hat and get a little detective with it. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Are you pursuing this goal for yourself or somebody else?
- What are you willing to do to reach this goal?
- What are you unwilling to do to reach this goal?
- How do you hope to feel after you reach this goal?
- When would you like to reach this goal?
- Does this goal align with your priorities?
#2 Take your life into account.
We all have obligations that are unique to us.
Often times, when we initially set goals we can forget what our actual life looks like. THIS sets us up for immediate failure and makes it difficult to reach our goals overall.
We take the “It’s a lifestyle change” thing a little too far and try to bend our entire life to suit our goals.
Now, if your family could benefit from healthier eating, then I whole-heartedly agree that healthier meals should be on your goal bucket list. Do I think you need to overhaul every single meal right away? HECK NO! Try a new recipe once a week to start. That way you won’t feel overwhelmed and they have a say in the process.
Once you’re clear with your priorities and goals, pull out your calendar.
Take a look at what is going on in your life over the next 12 months. Think of things like birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, vacations, AND intrinsically BUSY times. Everybody’s career has a busy time and a more sustainable time. If you know that work will be a bit more crazy around tax season or beginning of the school year for example, starting a brand new program that requires way too much time in the gym AND lots of meal prep wouldn’t be a great idea.
#3 Know your limits AND where you’re willing to negotiate.
In other words, what are your non-negotiables?
For me, I don’t like working out when I first wake up. I also ruined my hormones last year waking up at 3:30 am for work one too many times, so I have NO desire to do that now.
Know where you’re willing to bend AND what will cause you to break, then plan around those things.
#4 Think in terms of small behaviors.
I always want clients to think long-term, but not LARGE GOALS.
Long-term thinking helps us break down goals into small habits.
Sometimes when all we see is the BIG GOAL, we get overwhelmed and want to give up.
Let’s take the aforementioned 40 pound weight loss above.
If we simply look at losing 40 pounds and believe this should be a linear progression, then the very first time the scale shoots up we would feel completely defeated right?
However, if we chop that 40 pounds into DAILY habits that will create the desired result over TIME, then we set ourselves up for success because we can now tick off our daily to-dos and insure we are on track.
Instead of the ever looming 40 pounds, now we can focus on ONE THING that will take us closer to that goal each day.
BONUS!
What’s your one thing?
Something I shared with clients yesterday was to find ONE THING, ONE HABIT, that would move them toward their goal today. It can be as simple as one of the following:
- Drink more water
- Eat a vegetable
- Take a slow walk
- Do some yoga
- Cut back on caffeine
- Pay attention to the foods you eat
- Go to bed 20 minutes earlier
These are all small goals that add up HUGE over time.
Find ONE THING you can do today to get you started on your goal.
By the way, I encourage you to ditch the NEW YEAR NEW ME stuff…..YOU are unique and have something awesome to offer the world. Try on a new mindset and let’s see how far that can get you.
In good health,
Michelle
If you feel like you simply need a little more guidance in the health, nutrition, and mindset arena, check out my coaching HERE.
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