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How to Succeed with Resolutions
(Excerpted from my book, Stop Aging, Start Training)
by Sal Fichera
Are resolutions worthwhile?
Most resolutions tend to fail … and quite rapidly. Many 2010 resolutions probably have already been discarded or avoided completely. Consequently, the act of making resolutions has been criticized by many as being a waste of time.
To be clear, being resolute is never a waste of time. In fact, I consider it a very strong, positive attribute. Without it, attaining any objective becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible. The key to success is not abandoning it, but rather establishing resolutions correctly, in the first place. Resolutions are no different from any other type of goal.
Like any trip, goal-setting begins with a destination – and a map to get there. The first step to attaining change of any type – be it body, mind, or soul – comes in the form of goal-setting (the map you’ll use to arrive at your destination). What matters is how to select your goals and, just as importantly, how to reach them. They not only help with setting a direction to pursue, they actually point you in the right direction. Goals are like a destination, a place or a state of mind – and body – you’d like to reach or be at.
A goal without action is little more than an idea. We can all be inspired from time to time, to eat less, walk more, sleep less, do more. But without a firm goal in place to make those motivations a reality, they remain just so many items on a to-do list that, quite frankly, never gets done.
For success, two types of goals need to be established: long-term and short-term. Long-term goals help you begin to take the action needed that will generate results that will become evident over the long term (say, six to twelve months – or more). In a sense, long-term goals are the “big-picture” goals; the ones that will impact your longevity and quality of life. Some examples include: the ability to walk longer distances without resting, measuring by time (twenty minutes longer) or distance (7 blocks more – or a quarter mile more). Such goals help you to recognize the relevance and importance of your short-term goals, and, thereby, more easily adhere to healthful day-to-day choices.
Short-term goals (weekly, monthly and quarterly), help make the attainment of long-term goals more palatable; more easily recognizable. By having short-term goals, it becomes easy to increase your confidence, self-esteem and enthusiasm by building on smaller successes as you strive for the bigger successes. For example, a short-term goal may be to walk twenty-five minutes a day, four days a week for the next month. At the end of that period, you would then reset your goals, perhaps bumping up the frequency to five days a week, or the length to thirty minutes a day, and/or the speed to 4.0 miles an hour (walk the same distance in less time) – or any combination, thereof.
The key to achieving both long- and short-term goals is to be realistic. By using realistic short-term goals to reach equally realistic long-term goals, you build on a solid foundation rather than reach for thin air. By setting realistic goals, short-term or long, you can more easily reach both.
Clear, concise and attainable goals
In order for you to remain motivated in the pursuit of your goals, it is necessary from the start to establish goals that are a) clear, b) concise and c) attainable. Having general goals like “feeling better,” “living more healthfully,” or even “losing weight” are not good enough. Without more specifics, it is easy to veer off course and not even notice it.
For goals to be clear, create ones that are easy to relate to. In lieu of simply aiming to “feel better,” examples of ideal goals would be to a) have more upper body strength, b) be able to play with my children (or grandchildren) longer, or c) climb stairs more easily.
As you can see, all three specific goals meet the original goal of “feeling better,” but by being more specific, they are more readily attainable. For instance, climbing stairs more easily can be quantified by comparing how you felt walking up two flights of stairs last week to how you feel performing the same task this week, or even next week, or even every week. Of course, your goals don’t have to be identical to these. Personalize each goal to fit your lifestyle, personality, and desires. Decide what variables or areas of life are most important to you.
To be concise, goals should be quantifiable. With a goal like attaining more upper body strength, you may include in that goal an increase of 10 percent (if you already have a quantifiable record of how much weight you can lift). For playing with your children longer, mention how much longer you would like to play, whether that translates into twenty minutes or one hour. For stair climbing, you may want to specify an amount of time or the number of flights. Other examples of concise goals include: lose one pound of fat per week for 8 weeks; trim your waistline by three inches; and, increase your walking distance by twenty minutes (or twenty blocks – if you live in a city).
Goals must also be attainable, or realistic, if they are ever to be realistically achieved. Nothing will sabotage your success more quickly than to set goals that are simply unattainable or unrealistic. If you are five feet tall, and weigh 200 pounds, avoid having a goal of becoming like an underweight, six-foot tall runway model. Even if you are six-feet tall, if you have a thicker frame, then avoid striving for a body frame you can’t possibly attain.
One last suggestion -- remember to write your goals down. Being able to see your goals on paper brings them that much closer to fruition.
So, if you’ve given up on resolutions, I urge you to reconsider and get yourself back on track. Being resolute about improving your life is so well worth the time, the effort and the journey. It will be the beginning of a new you … physically, mentally – and fiscally!
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