New Year. New You??
How many times have you set yourself a New Year’s Resolution? This will be the year I (insert goal here) .
Typical ones include the year I lose 3 stone. The year I get lean and fit. The year I give up chocolate.
What people don’t know is that they are setting themselves up for failure. What happens the minute you eat chocolate? Or when you “mess up” on your diet? Or when you skip the gym for a week? You give up! You think, oh well I already ruined my New Years Goal so I wont bother. And thats the end of that. Until next new year, when the cycle starts again.
So should you never set yourself any goals? Of course not! Goals are great to get you motivated. To understand the direction you want to go in. But instead of setting yourself a rigid goal you should be looking to set process goals or intentions.
Intentions can look very different but can actually help you to stay on track. Here’s an example. I intend to eat in a more healthful way this year. See how there is no specific criteria? I haven’t stated I will give up chocolate but instead that I will try to fuel myself with more nutrients. This might look like having a little less chocolate but it could also mean eating the same amount of chocolate but adding more fruit and veg. Or it could look like adding more fibre and protein to your diet. Or it could mean making an effort to eat a more varied diet.
This doesn’t give you the opportunity to give up on yourself so easily. If you have a day or week where you don’t eat any fruit or veg, that’s OK. You haven’t ruined your whole intention, because there is always next week to go at it again.
Other intentions could include, I intend to move more this year. You could start by adding a walk in per week. Then aim for 2, slowly building up. If you have a week where you don’t move, no big deal, you can go again when the time is right. Any small effort will add up to achieving your intention throughout the year.
Another could be that you will start to talk more kindly to yourself. They don’t always have to be about physical health! And certainly not always about how you look.
Make an intention that works for you. That feels true to you and realistic for your life and maybe this time next year you will be in a much better place to make a brand new intention.
Sarah x
