The Thing About New Year’s Resolutions

Here’s the thing about New Year’s Resolutions…. if i were to survey 100 of our clients, perhaps only one or two will actually achieve their New Year’s Resolution. 55% of all New Years Resolutions are about eating better or exercising more, and 80% will fail to stick within 6 weeks. But Why? According to this article on the psychology of New Year’s Resolutions, lack of enjoyment is a serious risk factor for giving up on everything you set your mind on.

The reason we see them fail in the gym, year in and year out, is a lack of planning. However it’s not very cool to sit down at midnight and write a business or life plan, is it? You can imagine if you’re flogging yourself, sore, tired, and hungry, that it would be very hard to keep going! And if you don’t have a plan, coach, or some kind of guidance and accountability, it can be very easy to thrown in the “too hard basket” and carry on like you always have.

Habits are exceedingly hard to break. It is for this reason that your “resolve” is not enough to achieve what you set out to do at Midnight on the 1st January each year. To overcome any habit, you need to work out what the “payoff” is. For example, cleaning your teeth makes your mouth feel fresh, what else can freshen your mouth? Or your morning walk gives you an energised feeling, if you couldn’t walk anymore, what else could energise you the same way? There’s a great book on The Power of Habit here, which delves deeply in to the psychology of a habit, and will give you a heathy respect for how hard they are to overcome!

So with this in mind, is there a better way to improve your life, year by year, than a New Year’s Resolution? Here are our top tips on how to make positive food and exercise changes in 2019:

1. Enjoy what you do: If you have to try out seventeen different gyms, and thirty-four different sports before you find what works for you, do it! Humans are made to move, your body will enjoy it once you find what suits you! The social aspects to any exercise can also have a powerful effect on your mental health and wellbeing!
2. Make a plan: If you decide you’re going to swim in the ocean three times a week, put it in your diary and follow through! Better yet, meet up with a friend to keep you accountable. Have a plan for when the weather is adverse, too cold, too hot, and too rough too!
3. Get a coach: Whether it’s a nutrition coach, sports coach, life coach, or business coach, it actually doesn’t matter too much! The skill-set of any coach includes working with their client to work out solutions to their problems. A coach won’t prescribe an unrealistic eating plan, or un-achievable exercise plan, because they’ve talked to you and worked out what you need, like, want, and can do! A good coach is usually pretty good at planning too!
4. Educate yourself: It is not motivating to flog yourself and achieve precisely nothing, or starve yourself and stay the same weight. If your resolution involves eating better, take the time to educate yourself on what “better” truly is! How you go about this can vary, but we would highly recommend consulting with a professional in the field, or taking it apon yourself to read research papers and books on the subject (make sure the author is qualified to write on the subject!)

On that note, have a sensational New Year! Use a portion of New Year’s Day to figure out what it is you’d like to do (assuming you’re one of the 55% that wants to eat better or exercise more), and plan how you’re going to do it! Once that’s sorted you won’t have any trouble inspiring a friend to join you, we are sure!

Finally, we have a free program called Make One Change. This is one change per month, with education, coaching, and planning provided. We cover a range of changes from the health of the planet, to mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing, and as a group, will help influence our communities and families towards a better future! Follow us here on instagram, or here on facebook!