NEW YEAR NEW ME! The popular phrase runs through all our minds as we approach the end of the year. It can be so easy to get swept away by this phrase and start setting an endless list of goals for the upcoming year. We often overcommit and find ourselves unable to reach all the goals set. This leads to feeling like we’ve dropped the ball, which can be a defeating feeling!
I want to remind everyone that it’s normal to feel overwhelmed at this time. Especially as we look online and see the best version of everyone. Try to remind yourself you are only seeing a snapshot of people’s lives onlines. So when it feels like everyone is succeeding and meeting goals, that we are often not seeing the failures and breakdowns along the way. Regardless, each person should be on their own journey and not feel like they have to compare to others.
When it comes to setting goals for the coming year and reducing the stress it will place on you, here’s some tips to keep in mind:
1) What are some goals that you know can fit into your life?
One of the hardest challenges of setting goals is being realistic on if it can fit into your life! If you work 3 jobs to pay the bills, setting a goal of working out an hour a day may not be possible for you. Instead maybe you start by making a goal to walk on breaks or do a 20 minute exercise video online. What is your ultimate goal? If it is to eat healthier, think about how you can make that fit into your lifestyle. If you work long days, know that you’ll probably need to meal prep. So think ahead on what you know you can commit to and base those goals around that!
2) Be realistic in how many goals you set
As the New Year approaches, it can be hard to not want to overhaul our life, but setting too many goals can often lead to poor adherence. Change is hard, regardless of how much you desire it, and setting a ton of goals for yourself makes it really hard to reach any of them. Set a few goals, not 10! 2-3 goals is a lot less overwhelming than 10, and if you reach those 2-3 goals, nothing is stopping you from setting more in the future. It’s about setting yourself up for success now!
3) How long do you actually think these goals will take you to reach?
Another huge mistake people make when it comes to goal setting, is setting an unrealistic time frame. A common goal being weight loss and people being misinformed on how long for healthy and long-term weight loss actually takes. With the world surrounding us with quick weight loss fad diets, many people don’t know that a weight loss of 0.5-1lb is actually the recommended weekly weight loss.
When it comes to any goal you are setting, do some research on how long it will realistically take. It’s going to take more than a week to train for a marathon. The key is to be realistic and know you are setting yourself up for success!
4) What other aspects of your life will these goals impact?
Know how the goals you set will impact the rest of your life. Time and money being 2 of the biggest considerations. Really think about how much time it will take to make the goal possible and how much money it will cost. Then really think about if those 2 things fit into your life.
Some other things to consider are how can these goals interact with your personal life? Will they hinder your professional life?
5) Know your obstacles
Along with thinking about how these goals will generally impact your life, think about what your obstacles will be! If you only have a certain amount of disposable income, joining a fancy gym and hiring a private trainer may not be a good idea for you. Setting a goal of training an hour a day at a gym when you barely have time to sleep may also not be a great goal for you. If you have a nutrition goal of wanting to eat healthier, but struggle to make time to meal prep, keep that in mind. Start small and do a quick and easy meal prep of maybe one meal a day. Maybe you’re just prepping some sandwiches in advance, and that’s still a great start. Jumping into meal prepping all 3 meals of the day for a week takes a lot of time and can be overwhelming. Knowing your obstacles can help you to tailor your goals to fit around them and lead to better success!
6) Are you excited about these goals or what reaching them means?
Who wants to be miserable every day??? I certainly don’t! So the goals I set are ones I am excited about. I know that if I wake up and I’m unhappy to do something, it’s going to be impossible to commit to. So find a way to make things exciting! If improving your fitness is a main goal, find ways of exercising that interest you. There’s no one way to reach health, and there’s way too many types of exercise to find yourself miserable.
Offering rewards after completing a task can also be helpful for some people! One of the most important parts of goal setting is finding a way to approach them that can lead to a lifestyle change and not something you constantly struggle to adhere to.
7) Are you in a good place for making change?
Yes the New Year seems like a fantastic time to start a new routine and go after your goals, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best time for you! If you’re already stressed about January plans and deadlines, maybe you’ll want to push back that goal or at least give yourself more time! I always recommend starting your work towards a goal asap, but just know if it’s going to be difficult and that may impact how immediately successful you are.
It’s also important to take stock of your mental health. No matter what, mental health should always be top priority. If you’re struggling with your mental health, seek out help. There are so many great resources for improving mental health and you’ll see that improving your mental health will greatly impact how easy it is to work towards other goals. Also, reaching a weight loss goal etc. does not equal good mental health. We often think if we lose that weight or eat the perfect diet that our self esteem will just skyrocket, but often that’s not the case and our self esteem is linked to deep things than our outward appearance.
8) What’s your support system?
Will you have support reaching your goal? Some people really thrive when they have one or more people to be accountable to. Others prefer to work alone. If you know that having someone around checking in on you will help you, find that person! Maybe it’s a coworker and you decide to take walks on your lunch break, maybe it’s your partner, family or friends. If changing your nutrition is a goal for you, if you live with people who only eat fast food or you’re constantly surrounded by food outside your nutrition plan, it will be hard to eat the way you planned!
Also know when those around you can negatively impact you. We all have known that person who will continually shoot down our plans and tends to focus on failure vs. success. Know who these people are and maybe don’t go to them for support. Finding people who have similar goals or have already worked towards the same thing you are is important to staying on task.
It’s an exciting time to take on the world and continue to work towards being the best version of yourself, and if you are mindful in your approach you’ll see so much progress! Sending everyone support and good vibes going to 2022 and I’ll see you there!
Until next time… and remember crushing goals is for all!