We are all too familiar with New Year’s Resolutions. They come in many shapes and sizes and almost all of us have made at least one over the years. In fact, one study showed that approximately 50% of individuals make a resolution each year. Another study by the University of Scranton showed that only 8% of people see their New Years Resolutions through. We don’t want you to be a statistic!
As health practitioners at Sandbox Fitness, we want one thing for our members – we want them to succeed. We want them to reach their goals and make permanent lifestyle changes to sustain them. I’m always down to for goal setting. That being said, the concept of New Years resolutions is one that I’ve struggled with over the years. Why is it that these goals are unattainable for so many?
If you read our article “Willpower has nothing to do with it” then you know about the strong correlation between changing a behaviour and achieving our fitness goals.
So, how do you successfully change a behaviour?
First things first, you have to have room in your life for some discomfort. If your life is already too stressful, we need to explore options to reduce stress levels before we talk about adding any additional form of discomfort. The fact is, if we try to add a change to an already stressful lifestyle we may not see positive results. Even though the goal is to have all changes eventually be seamlessly integrated into your life, we would be lying if we told you that making a change would be a piece of cake right away.
Once you’re able to successfully add a change you need to protect that change – this is part of making it permanent. One way to do this is to teach others about your health journey. Someone who relies on you for their health is the perfect person to keep you accountable.
The author of the book “The Foodist” (which we highly recommend) describes two types of mindsets. The first is a fixed mindset. These are the people who believe that we are born with the qualities that we have and there’s little room to change them. These people think that you are either smart, or not smart, have willpower or don’t, are inherently active, or not active. People with these mindsets are less likely to want to make a change because they believe their make-up has been pre determined.
The second mindset is a growth mindset. Those with growth mindsets believe that there is always room for improvement when the right amount of effort is put into something. These people see failure as an opportunity to learn and grow – they understand that there is room for error, and in fact, error is welcomed.
The term mindset in itself sounds very firm. I strongly believe that successfully adding small changes one at a time will help someone who might have a fixed mindset make the transition to more of a growth mindset.
“Almost all the barriers we believe are keeping us from our goals are smaller and softer than we imagine” Darya Pino Rose
So, when you’re thinking about what you want you resolution to be this year – think realistic, and think something permanent. Find something that you can fit into your life comfortably down the line. Remember that you should enjoy the foods you eat, and you should enjoy the things that you dedicate your time to. If you’re not sure what this looks like, come and chat with us – we’d be happy to help!
References: Author of “Foodist” Darya Pino Rose, Ph.D.
