New Year, New Resolutions
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Written by: Kelsey Woods
Another year has passed us by - what did you accomplish in 2018? Are you happy with your progress? Should you have pushed yourself more? Less? New Year’s Eve is a great time to reflect on the past 12 months, see how you feel about your accomplishments and start to make a plan for the following year. Soon you’ll start to hear grand resolutions from friends and family that you know they will inevitably break due to the nature of big resolutions. According to Business Insider, 80 per cent of New Year’s resolutions are broken by February, leaving people feeling defeated and discouraged, generally swinging far back in the opposite direction of their intention since they already failed and see no point in continuing. However this year, I challenge you to look at resolutions a little bit differently.
Instead of making some grand statement like ‘I will exercise every single day of 2019,’ and inevitably failing and feeling hopeless, try saying ‘I will workout X times per week’ or ‘I will workout more times per week than last year.’ When you make a grand statement declaring a workout every single day, once you miss a single day, you know you’ve already failed, so why keep going? However, if you work on improving yourself, saying you will workout more times than last year, this is plausible. I challenge you to focus on improvement this year, not perfection. Striving for perfect may keep you motivated at the beginning, however, it will always lead to disappointment. Enjoy the journey and work on bettering yourself - this will ultimately lead to a happier, healthier lifestyle keeping you motivated to be better than you were yesterday, not trying to be perfect overnight.
Here are some New Year’s resolutions to help set you up for success this year. Remember to start small and work your way up.
Drink Water
Now we’ve all heard this one before, because ‘water’s good for you.’ But, I bet you don’t know all the facets of daily life that drinking a healthy dose of water really affects. Adult humans are 60 per cent water and our blood is 90 per cent water, so it is a major part of our composition and key to our survival. However, it also affects many other aspects of our life:
It delivers oxygen to your body.
It helps you sleep deeper.
It boosts skin health and beauty.
It regulates your body temperature.
It boost performance during a workout.
It reduces the chance of a hangover.
If you’re not convinced yet, read why Medical News Today says that water is essential for all areas of life.
Set Goals
It’s been proven that people who set goals are more likely to succeed than people who don’t. Quite often you hear the philosophy ‘if it’s meant to be, it’ll happen.’ Well, if you want it to happen, MAKE it happen! Set your goals high and then create an action plan to get there. When the deadline hits, you either celebrate because you succeeded or you re-evaluate and adjust your plan. Never change the goal - you made it for a reason.
Positive Self-Talk
Silence that mean inner critic and start loving yourself. Instead of thinking negative thoughts, think about the positive results. Ex. Don’t say “I look fat so I’m going to the gym”; try “I’m going to workout because I want to look lean and toned.” This small shift changes your mindset from a negative thought pattern to a positive outlook. You will instantly start to motivate yourself and want to change, rather than dragging yourself to the finish line. Don’t let fear push you, let goals pull you.
Less Screen Time
Sure everyone needs a bit of Netflix time on their down days, but do you really need to binge watch that show that you’ve already seen three times? Screen time may seem enjoyable, but your brain needs more. Instead of laying on your phone for an hour before bed, try reading a book or doing a crossword puzzle. There are plenty of brain games that can keep you entertained and learning at the same time.
Do Something for the First Time
The older you get, the more things you’ve already done. We often get stuck in our routines doing the same things every day, week, month because we know what we like. However, you don’t know if you like something until you try. So I challenge you to try something for the first time at least once a week, whether it’s a new menu item, a new sport, a new hobby or perhaps a new way to work. Challenge yourself this year, you might be surprised what you find out!
Do You
I’m sure you’ve heard people say, “I’m just going to say yes and do everything this year!” However, I don’t want you to say ‘yes’ to absolutely everything or ‘no’ to everything. I challenge you to set an intention for the year to come - whether it be peace, happiness, open-mindedness, creativity - and ask yourself, “is this inline with my intention?” If it is, go for it; if it’s not, maybe pass on this one and refocus on what’s important to you. Because 2019 is the year of you - let’s get started!
Kelsey Woods is the Content & Editorial Manager for Best of Calgary