New Year, New You

As 2014 comes to a close, and 2015 begins (scary fun fact: the year 2030 will be just as far away from us as the year 2000), now is a time that many people set to make New Year's Resolutions -- it's a New Year, representing a blank slate, where you aim to re-create yourself as a better, healthier, happier, and more successful person. The first few days of the new year, people set off overly-confident and pseudo-determined to BE this new person...

However, a 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol of 3,000 people showed that, despite 52% of the study's participants being confident of success at the beginning of the study, 88% of these people FAILED. Additionally:

• Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in a goal setting (i.e. "I want to lose a pound a week" vs. "I want to lose weight")
• Women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from friends.

Part of the reason New Year's resolutions fail is because people expect them to be a fix-all solution, like any crazy diet fad that seems "too good to be true." Thanks to the post-holiday come-down from gifts, family, and SO MUCH food, people are propelled into the New Year with what seems like renewed motivation to begin the year anew as a form of a better person of themselves. But this is a misplaced determination. Because it is the new year, we generate these unrealistic expectations like "I'm going to lose weight" or "I'm going to quit smoking" yet we make no actual quantifiable goals to judge ourselves against. Not only this, but the goals we set in the New Year end up being the ultimate END goal as opposed to smaller sub-goals, which would help us reach a more realistic end goal.

For example: a 160 lb, 5'6" woman makes a New Year's resolution that she wants to be 120lbs. Great. Well, she'll probably start of strong, buying new workout clothes, getting rid of all of the unhealthy food in her cabinet, and purchasing a gym membership. 

There are several issues with this case: first of all, she set a very unrealistic initial goal. By aiming to get to 120 lb, that goal is the only thing in her mind, and she didn't mention how she would prevent or prepare for set-backs. Let's say she had a really stressful week at work that week, didn't get a lot of sleep, and ate more than she planned -- she might gain a few pounds. But someone with just this unrealistic goal in her mind will see this small set-back as a complete failure, making it less likely that she'll continue attempting her goal. Also, she made a TON of changes at first with no real plan or timeline. As stated before, stressors like work, relationships, money weren't considered and stressors promote returning to what is known/normal (back to the beginning). If things are taken more slowly, i.e. first just removing the bad food from the house and starting from there, and then maybe adding the gym after the first month, and then trying to workout 3 times a week - the mind and body are both able to transition.

A goal needs a plan, and while the new year provides the jump start in "apparent" motivation to accomplish the goal... there really is no plan set in motion. So people get all gung-ho about this new goal, without even knowing how they're going to accomplish it, what ACTUAL outcomes they're looking to see, and the issues / obstacles that may come up along the way so they can best face them.

So this year, instead of making a New Year's resolution, take the first couple weeks of the new year to figure out what it is you really want, what you want to work for, and plan it out. Like any good project, the planning stage is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. The execution will come if the planning is done correctly. Figure out why you really want this change, things that might get in the way, small milestones to ensure and measure success. And once the planning is complete, make the changes slowly, one by one, like a transition. No longer will it be a new year's resolution, but a transformation into the new you thanks to proper planning.

Workout of the Day:

10 minute cardio warm-up

10-20-30-20-10 (of the following exercises)
Burpees
Squats
Sit ups
Box Jumps
Tricep Dips