‘Tis the season of introspection and self-loathing! Happy New Year! Just kidding. Kind of.
If the indulgence and consumerism of the holidays has got you cracking the whip on your own ass, might I suggest you pause for just one minute?
Here’s something I know from professional experience: most of us are making similar resolutions, year after year, and never actually following through on them in the long run. We choose huge resolutions like quitting smoking, losing 30 pounds, being better parents, or running a marathon.
Or, my favourite resolution, never once achieved: Stop worrying.
That’s not a resolution. That’s a mammoth shift in mindset and lifestyle.
Like many of the “resolutions” we choose, these goals are long-term shifts. Not something you can change with a January flurry of juice cleanses and Instagram posts.
PICK A HABIT. ANY HABIT.
When I work with one of my amazing Online Training clients, we don’t work on goals like “lose weight” or “eat healthy.” Too vague. Too directionless. Too doomed to fail.
Instead, visualize who you want to be one year from now. What do you do? Look like? Feel like?
Then, begin teasing out the aspects of your Better Self that you can work on right now. For example, if you visualize yourself one year from now with better posture & alignment, make a list of actions, small and large, that will help you achieve that goal. Maybe your list includes “yoga once per week” or “stretch my hips & back for 5 minutes every day” or “take the stairs at work each day.”
Then pick ONE HABIT. Write it into your daybook, commit to it on social media, program it into your iCal each day, or whatever you need to do to keep that habit front of mind. Then simply practice that habit.
The key? Practice. You don’t have to get it right in the beginning. You don’t have to get it right every single day. Keep practising until you don’t have to “practice” anymore and you do it on autopilot.
Then, move onto the next habit you want to build.
The awesome thing about good habits is that they tend to crowd out bad habits. So all that focusing on steps you CAN take ends up being way more productive than a resolution to “quit” or “stop doing” something.
If you’re still thinking about your plans for 2018 or if you’re feeling stuck with the same old, tired “lose weight” or “run a 10K” resolutions you’ve made for 5 years in a row, I’m here to help. Pick one of the suggestions below and practice it, as described above, until you’ve mastered it. Then move on to the next one.
Imagine the progress one year can bring when you stop being vague & unrealistic, then spiralling into bad habits & self-judgment. Imagine a whole year of deliberately working on one thing at a time. Science-based. Sane. Successful.
MULTIPLE CHOICE RESOLUTIONS HABITS.
Download this printable little list of inspiration to stick on your fridge.
Happy 2018, mama!
xo
D.
Title image: foxnews.com