Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Many of us have high hopes for the new year related to our health and health goals, which may include, exercise daily, more sleep, or less sweets… But after a month or more of the year has passed. New, what would you do if you couldn’t achieve your desired goals quickly?
Enthusiasm for achieving most end-of-year resolutions is waning by mid-March, finds research from behavioral scientist Katie Milkman of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Like many goals, which seem exciting at first, you feel motivated to achieve them. But perhaps, as the world prepares to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic and a new year begins, you’ve made decisions that don’t fit your ability to achieve them.
Weeks later, the pandemic appears to be far from over. What is the fate of those decisions? If you feel like you failed to achieve them, here are 5 steps to help you reset and achieve your goals this year.
Evaluate the reason for your failure
Many people set big goals in terms of losing weight, for example. These are unattainable or nearly impossible goals. And when you focus on losing weight, it should be done slowly but surely, so that it is more sustainable and realistic, rather than losing several kilograms at once. Breaking your larger goal, say 9 pounds, into smaller goals (like losing about 1/2 pound or a little more per week) is more amenable to setting your expectations and actually measuring your progress.
On the other hand, if you set a lot of goals in mind, it may overwhelm you. For example, instead of saying “I’m going to eat healthy”, say, How do you eat healthily, when and where? Planning your meals in advance, sticking to a protein-rich breakfast, or focusing on eating five portions of fruit or vegetables a day are all set goals.
Correct or change the approach
If you still want to achieve your key decisions, break them down into smaller goals. Set standards for yourself. Write your goals on a calendar. And be able to control its achievement.
And if you realize that your decision to lose weight is less important than feeling energized or sleeping more, don’t hesitate to correct your program. Change may be just what you need to align with your goals. In addition, write down how you feel morning and evening, to measure your energy or sleep improvement, and eat energy-rich snacks that include protein, such as boiled eggs, nuts, seeds, protein bars, and others, as well as follow a relaxing nighttime routine, such as exercising yoga.
Redefine your goals
Now that you’ve decided to change or continue with your program, it’s time to redefine your goals, connecting them to your feelings, so that you can start feeling the way you want to once you’ve achieved your goal. And if getting more energy is one of your decisions, extend it to what you’ll feel once you gain that extra energy. Is your goal to have more energy so you can run happily with your grandchildren? Or is your goal to have more energy so you can finally celebrate starting a new business? Connect a sense of your goal, and redefine it with emotion.
Achieve your big goals by achieving small goals
And if you want to exercise five days a week for 30 minutes a day, you can break that goal down into smaller goals. For example, you could divide the 30 minutes into six five-minute rounds during the day. Or you can do a morning workout for 15 minutes, and another for 15 minutes in the evening.
And at the end of the day when you’ve achieved the goal, congratulate yourself that you’ve done a good job, or listen to your favorite song. Success breeds success, so celebrating your small accomplishments will help keep you motivated until you achieve your bigger goal.
Track your progress
Whether you’re using an app to track your workouts or eating, or you want to log your progress in your diary, keep track of your progress. This gives you the ability to see the big picture from a while ago, last week or last month, and provides you with evidence and data to analyze, rather than just what you’ve achieved at the moment. And if you’ve had a bad day and are feeling down, you can look at your progress to convince yourself to keep going.