How To Keep Rocking Your New Year’s Goals

Somehow, it’s already mid-January. Which for many people means they’ve already abandoned their new year’s goals. If this is you, you’re not alone. The important thing to remember if you have stumbled is that the year has only just begun. Each day brings with it the chance for a fresh start.

Too often we get lost in black & white thinking. We believe that one misstep, one missed workout or one less-than-healthy meal means we’re completely off-track. The good news is that this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Today, we’re talking three ways you can follow through on your new years intentions if your year is off to a rocky start.

Be kind to yourself

If you have fallen off your goals in the new year, make sure that you treat yourself with kindness. When you come from a place of love (for yourself and your body), it makes it a lot easier to get back where you’d like to be. This can be easier said than done, though, which is why we have some advice. Approach your January missteps with curiosity, not judgment. In other words; how can you learn from the situation? Since you already know what tripped you up, you can make a mental (or actual!) note of how to better cope with those triggers or ways to avoid them altogether. You’re much more likely to be successful in the second go-round because you have a plan in place.

Make sure your goals are specific & realistic

Look back at the intentions or goals you set. Were they realistic for you, or did you get a little carried away? We’re ALL for setting big goals, but when you’re embarking on new healthy habits, it can be helpful to start slow and build from there.

We like to focus on making SMART goals; specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Let’s say your goal is to eat at home more often. That goal by itself is pretty ambiguous. What kind of food will you eat? How will you prepare it? How long do you want to keep this habit? Instead, be more specific; ‘I’m going to prepare food on Sundays, pack my lunch for work Monday through Friday and eat dinner at home 4 nights per week for two months.’ See how that’s a little more concrete? You’re much more likely to follow through on your goals if you’ve set very specific parameters around what each one means. If you want more information on setting goals, check out our blog post here.

Just get started

This is perhaps the most important one. So, you stumbled. It’s not a big deal unless you make it one. The quickest way back to feeling like your best step is to just get started. Eat a healthy meal (we can help with that!), get back in the gym or go on a walk at lunch. Most of the time, action leads to motivation, and not the other way around. Sometimes, waiting for motivation means you’ll be waiting for a.long.time.

So, instead, take the first step. Start moving the dial in the direction you want to head and you’ll notice pretty quickly that you’re starting to feel better, and the things that used to feel hard keep getting easier. Small positive steps add up, we promise! And if you do make an inevitable misstep, remember that one unhealthy meal (or one missed workout) won’t undo your progress unless you let it by continuing down that path. Instead, get right back to your healthy habits as soon as you can. It’s called balance ;).

Setting goals on your own is awesome, but two is always better than one. Let us help you meal prep so you can accomplish those New Year’s goals with a little more finesse. Check out our meal plans today!