Succeed in change

admin

Many people are currently thinking about what New Year's resolutions to make and what goals to set themselves for the coming year. If your goals for next year include exercising more, eating healthier or recovering faster, these six tips will help you make the change and achieve your goals.

1. Clarify your goals

Simply setting a goal to change your lifestyle for the better usually doesn't work, because the goal doesn't tell you in concrete terms what you are going to do. A good goal is clear, realistic and measurable. Such a goal could be, for example, three exercise sessions a week, a handful of berries a day or an hour more sleep a night.

It is a good idea to relate the target to your daily life and other workload. If just getting one exercise session a week is a challenge, it is not a good idea to set a target of five sessions a week. A more realistic target might be 1-2 sessions per week.

Try to break down the bigger goals into parts and set smaller milestones. You can set deadlines for milestones, so that the goal stays in your mind all the time. Achieving the goal will keep you motivated and help you keep moving towards the next goal.

2. Timing of measures

Decide when to start making changes. The turn of the year is popular for good reason, as starting your changes at the turn of the year or on a specific date will help you achieve your goal, commit to it and build confidence in your abilities. Tying a change to a specific time helps you focus on the goal.

If you are requesting a major change, change one thing at a time and schedule subsequent changes for the turn of the week or month. Mark the events on your calendar to keep them in mind and to commit to the change.

3. Take action

Getting started is usually the most challenging stage of change. Help yourself to make the change by creating easy choices: remove all the unwanted things from view, such as treats, and put fruit or vegetables in their place. Have your sneakers or gym bag ready in the hallway to lower the threshold for exercise. When you make healthy choices as easy as possible, taking action doesn't feel so challenging.

4. Challenge a friend to join you

Shared goals with a friend are more likely to be achieved than goals I work on alone. Training sessions agreed with a friend are less likely to be cancelled, because you have to make the effort to cancel and explain the reasons not only to yourself but also to the other person.

Talking about your goals out loud to friends and loved ones also helps to achieve them. Even if you and a friend are not working towards the same goal, you can get support from friends to help you achieve yours.

5. Be kind to yourself

Torturing and torturing yourself rarely helps you achieve your goals. Instead, gentle encouragement and a sense of self-compassion motivate and help you reach your goal.

A gentle way of speaking is especially important when change has backfired. Failures are best dealt with by those who accept any setbacks and are prepared to move on. If, at the moment of failure, you are left to wallow in self-pity and a guilty conscience, you will miss the target.

6. Ask a professional for help

You can also ask a professional to help you make the change. With the help of a personal trainer, it is easier to set a goal, take action and stay motivated. A personal trainer helps you set realistic and achievable goals. You won't have to cancel a training session with your coach for very flimsy reasons, and your coach will ask you how you're doing and give you tips on how to make better choices.