We are in one of two places in time:
We are two weeks into 2021 or we are in the last two weeks of the “Bonus Month” at the end of the movie, 2020.
Either way, there’s a chance you might be thinking about your New Year’s Fitness Resolutions and whether you’ll be able to keep them. We’ve got a couple of mindset-shifts that you can make that will help you to keep your resolutions (and then be on your way to fitness glory!)
Resolutions are a mixed bag.
There’s room for a lot of cynicism about them…but there’s also something pretty powerful about harnessing the beginning of a new year for psychological leverage.
In my experience, the problem that many people have with making resolutions is that they don’t really know how to keep them.
You know, you decide you’re going to finally “get in shape” or “lose your ‘Covid-19’ (lbs.)” and you start doing a weekly virtual fitness class…until you get bored with it.
And then there’s the whole motivation thing.
The truth about motivation is that it’s usually fleeting. For longer-term consistency, you need more than just ‘motivation’.
(I mean, it’s possible to have some sort of major life event that triggers within you a surge of long-lasting motivation…but what is more often the case is that even when that powerful kind of motivation appears to result in long-term behavior change, that’s because it was supported by habits and systems).
Here’s the thing: much like defeating this whole covid thing, it’s going to take a multi-factorial approach.
At the risk of going on a tangent…
In much the same way that the way forward will have to include not only the vaccine, but masks and distancing and ventilation and reduced durations of potential exposure (which means spending less time with other people)…and good breathing and nutrition and fitness…
And all of that is going to require a different mindset than the one we’re (collectively) using now.
Making Resolutions That Actually Stick
Similarly, making a New Year’s Resolution that’s actually going to stick involves more than one moving piece. We can talk about the specific elements of your plan later. For now, let’s talk about a couple of mindset-shifts that you can make that will help your resolution to ‘stick’:
(I want to note that your mileage may vary. While the following are ideas that have worked well for people in the past, only you know what works best for you).
Start with Why.
It’s really worthwhile taking the time to get really, really clear about why this is important to you…
- How will life be different if you feel great all day long?
- What will your workday and your overall professional life be like if your thinking is clearer and your energy levels are consistent throughout the day?
- What will you feel like when you begin getting better quality sleep?
- And perhaps most importantly, what will is say about you if you follow through with developing a regular habit of good self-care? Not ‘what will it say to other people?’…but What will it say to you, about yourself? How does fitnessing and taking care of your body align with your personal values?
Get Support and Accountability.
As you may know, we place a high value on community. A part of that is because of the magic that we’ve seen happen—over and over again—when people go through a workout together. Regardless of whether they know each other, there is this wonderful willingness—nay, eagerness—to cheer each other on.
Finding a workout buddy or a community with built-in workout buddies will go a long way to helping to make sure you show up for your workouts (which is often half the battle).
Remember that this is really about the long game,
Consistency wins out over intensity. Every time.
Manageable—dare I say, easy—next steps are the kind of steps that you’ll actually take…repeatedly.
And that’s the key here: You don’t have to go all gangbusters right now—because what matters more than how hard you work out today is whether you’ll be back for the next workout. And the next and the next.
Because that’s when real change happens.
It doesn’t matter how well you start…what matters is that you continue once you’ve started. You can start with easy and build—gradually—from there…because change takes time.
And remember…
If you would like some help getting started, accountability, community and wacky fun along the way, we would love to help you. You can get started here.