To set yourself up for success this year, I want you to throw out what you’ve already written out and try again right here, right now with the following 3 R’s.
For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to use exercise as an example, but you should be able to use this for all of your resolutions/goals this year.
Many people jump into the new year by saying they will “exercise more” or “work out 30 minutes, 3-5 times a week.” While this is a fabulous goal to try and get to, if you haven’t exercised in the last 6 months or so, you’re going to be overwhelmed by the time you need to put into your schedule, the possible DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness), and just how tired or sick you might feel mid work out because you haven’t done it in so long.
Here’s how to approach it instead:
Realistic: Create REALISTIC goals. If you haven’t worked out in a while, you don’t need to jump into 30 minutes, 3-5 times a week. Start small and change the goals as you succeed. For some of you that may mean just 5-15 minutes, 3-5 times a week. For others it will be as simple as taking a family walk every evening after dinner. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just realistic and doable. When you meet your goal decide if you’re ready to increase it.
Reward: The next big thing with goal setting that my mentor taught me is to REWARD yourself! It’s no fun to accomplish a goal and not feel the reward, it doesn’t make your brain want to try again! Make sure your goals are proportional to the goals you set. Say you initially thought you would try working out again after you got a new pair of shoes or yoga mat. Instead, create your small goal and give yourself a small reward – even if it’s a simple as a yoga mat! The new wardrobe will be needed as a reward when you hit the bigger goal, I promise! So here’s the deal – create the realistic goal – set up the proportional reward – meet the realistic goal – REWARD YOURSELF! And – FEEL THE REWARD! Make sure all your cells know what it feels like to be successful so you can and want to do it again.
Restart: Now that you’ve met your goal you get to RESTART, make it just a little bit bigger and the reward a little bit better. Continue to do this and you’ll eventually get to your big goal. There is not rush to get to the final result and I promise your body appreciates the time you gave it to adapt to all the changes. Here’s another thing – if you didn’t make your goal. It’s totally okay. RESTART and do it again the next week with the same reward. The good thing about the New Year is that it’s just an over glorified Monday morning! That means you have 51 more of them this year!
There you have it be REALISTIC, REWARD yourself, and RESTART the process! Your keys to success in reaching your goals this year!
Leave a comment below with one of your first goals and how you’ll be rewarding yourself!