This year I have decided to screw the resolutions. I’m a goal-setter. As a coach, I encourage goals to be set. Whilst SMART goals and tangibility have their place, they don’t take into account the emotions behind the goal, the positive, and more importantly the negative and keeping on track. I’m more interested in the intangible. The subjective stuff we can’t measure so easily.
So this year, two weeks out of 2021, I want you to re-think what you’ve planned for your New Year’s resolutions, and add some intangible weight behind it.
I want you to set a goal(s) that means something and empowers you, especially for when you struggle.
Keep it positive, powerful, and simple.
Our actions follow our emotions. Having a positively-worded goal will do much more for you than reminding you of what you have to achieve. For me, when I had the New York marathon, saying that I wanted to finish in a certain time put a lot of pressure on me, not least because I didn’t know how my health would be. Instead my goal was to finish with a smile on my face having really enjoyed it. I finished with a grimace as I’d fallen over 3 miles from the finish line, but I had absolutely loved every minute up until then, not caring how long it was taking me.
Instead of losing x amount of weight, which can seem like a huge impossible goal, what do you want the weightloss to make you feel? You can feel a lot quicker than you’ll see the scales get there. Use positive emotions to help with when you want to raid the biscuits too – What do I want to feel?
Review what happened to move forward to what you want.
Look back over the past year, or perhaps two as Covid has definitely skewed this year…, to consider what you don’t want and what you really want for 2021.
Create inexpensive rewards
Rewards are a great way to reinforce positive habits. They don’t have to be expensive, take hours out of your day, or make you feel guilty. And for bonus points, they can also count as self-care!
