Let me guess, you want to lose weight and get fit in 2019. Or perhaps you want to make more money and spend less of it mindlessly.
Whatever your goal is, the new year is almost here and the majority of us are already planning on the resolutions we would like to accomplish.
Statistics show that less than 9% of people are able to actually reach their goals and break-free from their old negative habits.
In some cases, new year resolutions may even make matters worse through discouragement and further solidifying the old negative thought patterns instead.
In fact, some people have totally given up on setting new year goals because they already anticipate the same outcome – nada.
How can you ensure that the outcome will be different in 2019?
Keep it simple.
Setting a goal grandiose is ambitious and inspiring, but unfortunately it is not realistic in the short term.
Quantum leaping is as common as winning the lottery.
Instead, set both long term goals and short term goals that are tangible and within reach.
Experts say that happiness stems from progress.
Having short term goals makes it simpler and easier to accomplish, resulting in small wins along the way.
These small wins will provide the necessary fuel to stay the a course and continue your journey to your ultimate, grandiose destination.
Find your why-power.
Will power can get the boat up and running but can only get you so far.
You need something stronger if you want to win and accomplish your goals.
Things are going to be hard, period. If they are not hard, you are not challenging yourself, therefore you are not growing which means you are stagnant in your comfort zone.
Find your “why”. The more emotional it is, the closer to your heart it is, the better.
This is extremely important and will be the primary reason for your success.
If your “why” is not strong enough, the moment an obstacle shows up, it will crush you.
Make it specific.
“I want to lose some weight” is not enough to make you want to do it.
Being specific and outlining exactly how you want to look, what you want to accomplish and setting a deadline is a much more powerful way to set goals.
Take some time with this step, go in a room and meditate on it. Visualize your goal, how you’ll look and feel when you accomplish it.
Write down the specifics in your journal or a piece of paper. There is something about physically writing it down that begins the process.
Let’s say you want to lose 20 lb, 2 lb a week sounds reasonable. That would be 10 weeks. Start a 12 week program, give yourself an extra 2 weeks and get after it.
Now you have a specific, tangible goal that you are working towards.
Keep believing you can do it.
If you don’t believe you can do it, don’t even start.
Most people that fail their new year resolutions tend to blame it on will power. Will power is finite resource.
If you don’t fully believe that you can accomplish it, you’re basically knowingly fooling yourself and once your will power runs out, you’re done.
Having a specific, tangible goal written down and believing you can accomplish it, you won’t need to rely on will power at all times to reach it.
Without belief, nothing can succeed.
Accountability.
It is not real until you have made yourself accountable for your resolutions.
When you have a source of accountability, you are the one fully responsible for your actions, success and failure.
Some people (like myself) value integrity above all else which means that if they confirmed with themselves that they’re going to do something, now they HAVE to do it.
There’s no backing down, no excuses or 50% effort.
There’s no fooling myself because deep down inside I always know the truth. It’s now real.
There are studies done on human psychology showing some people hate losing more than they love winning.
If this rings true for you then utilize this tactic to your advantage by putting something on the line that you’d lose unless you stay committed to your goals.
This could be a cheque to your friend that you can’t get back or hiring a personal trainer or coach to keep you accountable and guide you to success.
Truth is we all need guidance of some sort as “training wheels” at first, until we’re able to hold our own weight.
Final Words
Before you completely give up on this whole new year resolution thing, understand that there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with you.
It’s simply a matter of taking the correct steps to align your mind, thoughts and behaviors towards a common goal.
Implement these “hacks” above and avoid being just another new year failure statistic in 2019.
Primal Breed is committed to providing you effective personal training in Toronto, helping you lose unwanted weight permanently and build lean muscle for life.
