Image via theloophk.com
As the holidays envelop us with whatever personal feelings they provide for you, one thing usually is a topic of conversation no matter where you are, “what will your new year’s resolution be?” It’s really interesting to think about as a lot of times you will hear of someone giving something up in an effort to live healthier, like “I’m gonna stop smoking”, or “I am going to go to the gym every day!”. These are great examples of small things within your own personal locus of control which you can successfully do in the coming year if you put your mind to it!
One goal is attainable for individuals, but there are also people who don’t make just one goal, but an entire plan with action steps and small goals along the way. I have always been the type to think about doing something, creating a surface-level new year’s resolution but never really buying into it.
I think what I have always taken for granted and what many others may do as well is to not appreciate or put enough energy into the process of preparing to meet and even exceed your goals. When you create an arbitrary goal and don’t map out a way to get there, how successful do you imagine you will be?
I have had the (mis)fortune of failing many times in my life. I say fortune because we are supposed to learn much more from our failures than our successes right? This I have found is only half true. Yes, you tend to be able to identify how you messed up pretty clearly, but does that really equate to learning?
Luckily I have some good role models who have helped me understand how important it is to go back and analyze your failures so you can prepare to be successful in the future. Part of this includes looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the strategy you used to try to accomplish your goal. YOu need to figure out what worked and what didn’t. Once you understand this you can then delve into why something didn’t work, identify and plan how to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
One of my resolutions this year is to cut down on the weight I gained from moving to a sedentary job. I had this same resolution last year but I failed because I didn’t take the right steps to make sure I succeeded. I’ve looked back at my plan and recognized some big holes. A big part of actually losing weight is watching what you eat. My failure last year showed me I have to take it a step forward and actually count calories and track what I eat. I cannot allow myself to binge and have days where I eat 8000-10,000 calories (yes that happens… cheese curds are too good). I’ve also looked at the type of workouts I was doing – mostly heavy lifting and skipping the cardio – and determined ways to add variety to my workouts to improve other areas, like flexibility and stamina by introducing more functional athletic movements. I am also stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying group fitness classes, specifically Lagree which is like super pilates and takes advantage of super slow and deliberate movements with resistance to hit areas that typical weight lifting does not incorporate.
I feel like I have a great plan to move forward and I am excited to see how this new plan will progress.
I also have to mention to everyone reading this, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WORK TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS ALONE!!!
If it wasn’t for the people supporting me, I probably would not step outside of my comfort zone and participate in something like a group fitness class. Luckily, my friend Alexa teaches the class (@REFORM Madison, check it out…) and I have a couple of other friends joining me to make it more fun!
Just remember, you can achieve any goal you set your mind to, especially if you have a plan in place, action steps to get there, and a great support network!
You got this!!
Good luck to you all in the New Year!!!
By: Cole Schenck
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