Realistic Goals For The New Year

We all do it. At the end of every year we give ourselves these 'goals' that we swear we'll stick to in the New Year. But guess what? Nine times out of ten, we don't stick to them. Do you know why? They're not realistic.

I'm all for the 'New Year New Start' deal but if i'm being honest, i'm over giving myself these dramatic goals of doing this everyday & saying that everyday. Yes, it's a New Year, but the World doesn't suddenly stop to give us time for our bodies to adjust to a new way of eating or a new fitness regime. Immediate changes, I believe, cannot just happen. You have to work your way up to these changes.

For example, a New Years resolution of “I’m going to go to the gym everyday” isn’t realistic. Especially if for the last month (or three) like most cases, you’re really slacked in that area. Why? Life. That is why. We all live such fast paced & busy lives, we can’t always stick to a routine. Some of us have two jobs, you may have to work late, you may have children, there are so many different factors that can get in the way of our resolutions. So if you tell yourself that you’re going to hit the gym everyday, but then you have one day after a week or two into the year where you can’t get for whatever reason, that one day, can set you back a million steps. And that’s because you’ve decided to run before you’ve even walked.

I have only ever stuck to one resolution & that was back when I was 16. And the reason I was able to stick to this resolution was a) because it was very simple and b) I started easing myself in early on in December because I knew in the New Year I wanted to stick to it. And that resolution, was to no longer have sugar in my tea. I used to have two big heaps of sugar in my tea, & throughout the last month of the year, each week I went from two spoonfuls of sugar, to 1 and a half, to 1 spoonful, to half, you get the jist. So come the New Year I was already well on my way & guess what? I’ve never had sugar in my tea since.

So here are a few resolutions that I’m going to be setting myself for the New Year & that I believe everyone can benefit from.

Drink more water.

This is something that I certainly don't do enough of. And something that probably most people don’t. Drinking water is unbelievably important for so many reasons. It helps your skin, your nails, your hair, it increases energy levels, flushes out toxins, promotes weight loss & so much more. So have an alarm set on your phone to remind you about that glass of water. And something else I believe that may help to get more water in your system, before you go to sleep, make yourself a pint of water, have it by your bed & when you wake up, before you do anything, drink it. The reason I feel its better to make your glass the night before is because freezing cold water first thing in a morning can sometimes be a little uncomfortable for your stomach so if you have it out overnight, it should be a little bit more manageable.

Take time away from technology.

We’re all culprit of it, especially in this day & age. We’re on our phones from as soon as we wake up until right before we go to sleep. There’s been a handful of times over the past month or two when i’ve woken up, gone to the bathroom, made my breakfast & ate it, all before looking at my phone & guess what? It made me feel great! Staring at a lit up screen first thing in the morning isn’t good for us at all. It makes our eyes sore & our heads ache as we don’t give ourselves time to fully wake up before we start clicking away on our phones. So i’m going to give myself a resolution to stay off my phone for at least 15 minutes from waking up & for at least 15 minutes before going to sleep & then will slowly make that time longer.

No more negative Nancy.

I’ve noticed over the past year, & I include myself in this, that people will complain about anything & everything. You have to get up early, you complain. You go to bed late, you complain. It’s raining, you complain. With so much negativity in the world, I believe we should be changing our mindset to live a more positive life. So instead of moaning that you have to wake up at 6am, be thankful that you have something to get up for. Buy yourself a fancy umbrella so when you wake up & it’s raining it doens’t matter to you because you have the fanciest & biggest brolly so you’re going to stay dry & look fabulous whilst doing so (LuLu Guinness have some super cute ones!) So before you complain, find the positive. I’m sure there’ll be just one.

Mix up your workouts.

I think the most popular New Years resolution is to exercise more. But the rut that people fall in is that they sign up to the gym, don’t really know what to do so they do the same thing everyday, get bored, & give in. If you’re already a gym goer like myself, then you've probably got your little routine that you do, but come 2022, try & mix it up a little bit. If it’s all new to you, start with just 3 days a week & always do something different. You can go on a walk, take a pilates class, go swimming, try Zumba. If you mix it up, the chances are you’ll stick to it. And then slowly, you can start introducing more to your workout schedule. The main thing, is that you don’t stop. Keep going.

Don’t try to do it all at once.

You have all year. Don’t worry about starting all of your goals at once. Focus on 2 resolutions in the first month & then slowly begin bringing in the others. Don’t beat yourself up for not doing it all right away. We’re just human, we’re not machines.

I wish you best of luck for your goals in the New Year & hope this has helped!

Let me know in the comments if you've found these helpful or if you have any resolutions that you think are do-able!

Emily