Tips for sticking to New Year’s Resolutions

It’s that time of year again!

Every year on January 1st people around the world declare their New Year’s Resolution(s).  Although declared with good intention most of people end up never accomplishing the goal that they set out to do and by February the resolution is forgotten about (or at least ignored). This year why not make your resolution a priority?

Tips for sticking to New Year’s Resolutions

  • Make sure it is S.M.A.R.T. That’s right SMART! Specific, Meaningful, Attainable, Relevant (or Realistic) and Timely.  If you focus on making S.M.A.R.T. goals you will be sure to follow through and accomplish your goals.
  • Find a buddy. Whether it is someone who has the same goal as your or just someone who you can check in with ever week find someone who can SUPPORT you and your goals. If you want to accomplish something fitness related it is great to have a friend to workout with and keep you accountable.
  • Be Specific. This is one of the S.M.A.R.T. goals but I wanted to point it out again because the more specific with your goal that you can be the better chance that you will be able to accomplish said goal. In other words rather than saying I want to be more active in the new year a more specific goal would be “I want to run 3x per week” or “I want to go to cross fit 4x per week”.
  • Create Action Steps. I would say this is one of the most important tips to accomplishing your goals.  If you can actually take the time to consider what steps you need to take to meet your goals and create a plan the more likely your goals will be met.  So if you want to lose 10lbs then your action steps may be to increase the whole foods (fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc) in your diet, run 2x per week, practice yoga at home or in the studio once per week and spend more time reading than watching TV.

My New Year’s Resolutions/Goals:

This year I am really focusing on the goals that I set out for myself back in November. So far I have been doing really well with my resolutions and have really made time to focus on them and create action steps to accomplish them.  I have been turning this blog, social media and my husband for support and accountability.  It is amazing how much (self) pressure there is to follow through with things when you tweet a goal! One of my goals is to increase the intensity of my workouts in hopes that it will get me closer to being back in my pre-pregnancy shape.  To help accomplish this goal I have put the pressure on to run my first postpartum race in May and have created a training schedule to help me accomplish this goal.

In addition to the goals I have already set out to accomplish I would like to run three races, practice yoga once per week, read 12 books and re-learn Spanish.

What are you goals/resolutions for 2013? How are you planning to accomplish them?

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