Are You Ready To Throw In The Towel?
They say 80% of people quit their New Year's resolutions by mid February.
When you made your New Year's resolutions three weeks ago, I bet you promised yourself you would not be a part of that statistic.
I’ve been there before. I’ve been in that 80%.
Keeping to your goals is hard. Commitment takes work, accountability, planning, and a lot of other things that are hard to fit into our busy days.
This year, I promised myself I’d make it into that 20%.
Am I perfect? Far from it.
But I’ve stuck to my resolutions for 21 days (with multiple cross country trips), and I’m not dropping out anytime soon.
These are my best tips avoiding becoming a statistic and for actually achieving your goals this year and becoming the version of you you’re desiring to be.
First, do yourself a favor and write out exactly what you want.
Write it in specific terms, so there’s no flexing whether or not you’re on track or not. If we write down “I want to be healthier,” we can make anything we want “healthy” to fit our goals. But when we write out specific rules for our goals, we stick to them better. “I follow my plan for 21 days with ease.” Means you can check off every single day that you followed your plan, until day 21 when you’ve officially reached your goal.
Set reminders.
I know you’re busy. Whether you’re a mom, a business-owner, or a on-the-go girl trying to tackle the day-to-day, you’ve got other priorities on your mind. Being busy doesn’t mean you don’t have time to crush goals. It just means you have to prepare. I know that if I wait until after work to work out, I will lose motivation or find 10 other “more important” things to do. So I set an alarm every single morning, reminding me to get up and get my workout in. I also set reminders for things like drinking water and eating lunch. Given the opportunity the day will get away from you every time and reminder alarms or post-it notes can be your best friend.
Set yourself up for success.
I know you’ve seen the pictures on Instagram of people who spend all day meal prepping and eating beautifully colorful food packaged into glass containers, week over week. I’ve told myself time and time again that meal prepping “isn’t for me.” But in reality, sticking to my plan is for me, and meal prepping does not have to be a huge project. When you’re following an eating plan, there are so many things that can get in the way of your success. Preparing your meals the night before helps you avoid the temping snack machine at work, or a “quick breakfast” from Starbucks.
When I was a member at a gym, I always planned to go after work, just to discover that I “forgot my sneakers” or wore the wrong bra. These excuses are long gone now that I work out from home, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t occasionally procrastinate my 6am workout as long as humanly possible. Set yourself up for your workout the night before. Clear the space, get your computer or TV setup for streaming, and lay out your clothes. If it only takes you 5 minutes to prepare, it’ll only be 25 minutes until your workout is over!
These tips aren’t rocket science. I’m not breaking ground on new ways to reach a version of yourself you’ve never made before. I’m just giving you a small handful of tips that have helped me stay accountable to goals over the past year. I committed to not being a “resolution statistic” and you did, too. Show yourself that you’re worth the extra time and effort and that your goals are important. You can do it. I believe in you.
-L