So, the 1st of January struck, and the concoction of prosecco and tequila shots from the night before left you feeling more a shell of yourself than the grounded gym bunny you had hoped for. We’ve all been there. Don’t stress. No matter how you may have fallen off track from your goals we’ve got you covered on how to ditch the New Year’s guilt and start girl bossin’ those resolutions:
- If You Need to Rest, Then Rest
Feeling drained? A little bit more sleepy than usual? Well, it is winter so you can cut yourself some slack. In Katherine May’s book Wintering she explains how we can work with the darker seasons to gain rest and retreat. If you’re feeling run down, take January to heal and rejuvenate before you begin your goals, or begin things slower. Switch the HITT for low-intensity workouts- it all adds up. Don’t feel the need to relentlessly push through your body’s natural rhythms if it doesn’t work for you. New year, new me can really start on any day.
2. Set Input Instead of Output Goals
We often get short-sighted by the end goal rather than measuring the work we are putting into our achievements. But, by focusing on input instead of output goals you can make your aims more manageable. It’s ethos is simple: writing every day is more conceivable than a whole novel, and aiming to create three new healthy dishes a week is more manageable than changing your whole diet if eating healthier is your goal. By focusing on the journey instead of the end goal, you end up staying more consistent and less likely to throw the towel in when things go wrong.
3. Affirm or Reaffirm Your Why
Let’s keep it real. If your fitness goals are only aesthetic based, and your new goal to read more is driven by a ‘softboi’ fling rather than for your own growth – it’s probably not sustainable. Instead, get to grips with your real ‘why’ behind your goals. Even if on the surface it seems you only want to tone up to look great, if you delve deeper, you will probably find behind that toned physique you want the strength, health, and energy that you both gain and train for; much more noble quests when you’re lacking the motivation! Ultimately, looking further into the intrinsic worth of your goals will allow you to gain a greater level of self-worth from your actions, helping you to keep on track easier. If you want to know more on this topic, check out this Jay Shetty podcast on Spotify, for further inspo on getting your intentions honed.
4. Practice Self-forgiveness
And finally, remember falling off track is all part of the journey! We are human, and things aren’t meant to always go to plan. What matters is how many times you pick yourself up and showing compassion and forgiveness for yourself on your off days, weeks or months will allow you to do so, so much easier. It’s easy to beat ourselves up when we feel like we aren’t achieving or slacking on our goals but always remember to look back on how far you’ve come and give yourself a pat on the back for the troubles you have overcome in the process.