Ok, so the New Year's Resolution checklist usually goes something like this, right: Lose weight? Check. Start exercising? Check. Stop spending money unnecessarily? Check. The list can go on and on.
My biggest problem with my resolutions each year was that they were either too vague or too broad.
Get in shape. Stop stressing so much. Keep the apartment clean and organized. Get more sleep. With no specific “how-to,” my long list of resolutions glared back at me, overwhelming me before I even really began. I realized the changes I was trying to make stressed me out so much that at times that they seemed impossible.
That’s why it is important to remember that the New Year isn’t meant to catalyze an overall character change. It is a time for us to reflect on our past year’s behavior and make an oath to ourselves to make positive lifestyle changes in our own time.
If you find yourself not yet committed to any New Year resolutions, try to make a few goals that you can strive to attain slowly by focusing a little bit of energy on each one every week or every month.
Here are some of my suggested starting points:
Start small
Create resolutions that you think you can keep sis. If, for example, you aim to exercise more, schedule three or four days a week at the gym instead of six. If you want to eat healthier, try replacing your favorite sweet treats with something else you enjoy, like fruit or yogurt parfaits. Don’t see diet as a form of punishment, but as a reward for your body and all the hard work it does.
Work on your health
Before I used to spend loads of money on programs by big-name professionals in the health and fitness world. Now my goal is much simpler. Just show up and get a workout in for at least 30 minutes a day. Where? At my apartment’s gym. At home. Outside at a park. When? Three to five times a week, either in the morning or at night, it doesn’t matter. The point is, once I get my routine going, I’ll add more. But for now, this is a significant enough change for me. I’m also trying this new thing where I sleep in my workout clothes or set them out the night before, so they are ready for me in the a.m., and I have zero excuses.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Have you ever noticed that when you tell yourself not to worry, you usually do the opposite? We just can’t will ourselves to stop worrying. So I’m trying something new. Mantras. Repeating uplifting mantras to myself quickly puts all that doubt and fear into perspective and reminds me that getting upset over things regularly does absolutely nothing to change them, but for me, meditation and mantras do.
Promote Less Stress
Don’t laugh, but simple tasks like going to the grocery store or folding my laundry tend to cause me unnecessary stress. It takes hours to hit all the places and then carry it all back up to my third-floor apartment. I usually come home exhausted, starving and quite frankly a little defeated. Every single time.
The solution? Instead of trying to knock out a long trip to the store after work, I’m going to try a little on Monday and maybe some shopping on Friday too. As for the laundry, I sit down and put on a terrific TV show and can crank it out usually in an hour. It’s all about delegation and perspective. Sometimes, life is only as hard as we make it.
Create milestones
Ever heard the saying "Plan the work and then work the plan?" Create milestone markers that you can utilize to re-evaluate your progress or needs for improvement and then work out a plan from there.
Have fun with it
It's okay to enjoy the process of achieving your New Year's goals, sis. That's the whole point after all! Read or post them every day either to yourself or out loud and be proud of all that you have accomplished. You deserve the recognition!
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