The new year is underway, and we are already halfway through January, so this begs the question: How are your New Year’s resolutions coming along?
Whether a person makes a fitness goal, plans to spend more time with family, or even spending less time on their phone, the follow through of these resolutions seems to be the biggest challenge.
No need to fear, the Thunderword is here to simplify the problem and offer three tangible solutions to help make this year’s plans come through to their fullest! It all starts with tip number one:
- Be clear about your goal.
It is incredibly difficult to keep to a plan that’s not clearly defined. This seems an obvious tip if your resolution is fitness based, but it really does pertain to anything you can imagine.
Want to spend less time on your phone? Smartphones now will report your screen time to you weekly, allowing you to keep track of your habits as often as you need. Do you want to read more? Make a log and track down how many pages a day you want to get through.
The sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a resolution is only multiplied when you can point to a substantial task and track your progress. This attention to detail will take you far, but it is worth noting that this advice comes with an important caveat:
- Don’t get bogged down in the details, keep trying!
Yes, yes, you just read the above tip saying to be detailed, but hear us out. If your plan is so strict that you do not allow for realistic wiggle room, you will have a much higher chance of getting discouraged and stopping altogether.
If you want to drink more water and decide to track your water intake, you may have a stressful week and forget to write down your bottle count, or even forget to drink as much as you should. Don’t take this as a sign to quit, just pick it back up and try again.
The trick is to find a happy medium between the discipline of knowing where you’d like to improve, and knowing your current limits so you can one day stretch beyond them. Growth is not linear, it takes repetition and patience. Keep at it!
- Don’t be afraid to edit your goals.
Maybe your resolution was to run a 5K, but March has rolled along and you’ve realized that running is simply not for you. There are so many other ways to burn calories, and running never really was the point, was it?
It could be that you try rock climbing, swimming, or daily walks. This resolution does not have to be so rigid that you lose out on other opportunities, it should be a door that opens you up to a world of exciting possibilities!
As your journey continues, you learn more about yourself, so why not update your goals as needed? There is no perfect handbook to this thing, just do your best to find the most fulfilling things to do and, well, do them.
It’s alright, 5K’s are overrated anyways.