A daily plan for keeping up your health & wellness goals for 2016.
We’re approaching the middle of January and I know many of you have already given up on your New Year’s resolutions. I’ve done it in the past and I’ve been tempted to do it now, but this year I have a new plan. I’m making small goals, creating an accountability group for support and encouragement, I’m being honest with myself and my group, and I’m not getting down on myself if I don’t reach every goal, every moment of every day.
Sometimes the pressure we put on ourselves is way too high. I have a friend who is just beginning to get back in shape again and he’s already got plans to climb Mt. Everest. I guess some people can do that and more power to him if he makes it happen, but I’m way more interested in making small, conscious shifts, which down the road will reap the biggest changes.
I was discussing, this morning actually, the fact that I’m running faster than I ever have in my life. I’ve also competed in the longest mountain bike races of my life in the last 2 years. I will continue to build on what I’ve done, but I’m taking logical steps. I definitively believe that conscious endurance is the way to go. Adding a little bit at a time. I take this approach for 2 reasons, a. to prevent injury; and b. too make sure I’m keeping a decent work/life/play balance.
If you’re one of those who has over shot your goals for the new year, find yourself overwhelmed and just about giving up on this whole New Year’s resolution crap, then you’re in luck! Here are 3 easy steps to get back on track and keep you there for life.
First step is to regroup and dial back your goals. Stick to 5 small goals each day. For instance, I have a goal of relishing in gratitude 3 times each day. Write now, I feel grateful to be writing this post. There’s one! If your goal is to workout everyday or stop drinking for the month of January and you lost track, maybe reassess. Be okay if you workout 4 or 5 times each week. Or only have a couple of glasses of wine once or twice a week. It is okay to reassess and make changes along the way. All successful teams, businesses and people always reassess their course.
Second step is to make sure that you can accomplish at least 50% of those goals. We want to make sure we’re building confidence along the way. It’s good to be motivated, but if we feel like failures we may give up completely and that defeats the purpose. When setting your goals make sure that half of them are attainable with some attention, don’t make them all unattainable.
Third is to guarantee small wins. If your goals, like mine, include meditating twice daily for at least 15 minutes, don’t berate yourself if you’re only doing 10 minutes one day. It’s totally fine. Make it a win if you did 10 in the morning and 5 in the evening. Even 3 minutes in bed before you roll over to sleep is a win. A woodpecker always gets his nest and you will too if you keep pecking. 1 minute, 3 minutes, or 30, it’s all moving in the right direction.
All the greatest athletes and performers are able to let go of the past and do their best in the moment. They are not effected by a missed shot or a bad performance. They assess, regroup, do better. They also congratulate themselves for making the correct shifts. You can too! Find me on twitter if you need some help! @teddymcdonald