New Year, New Goals

· by Morgan Patterson

Morgan joined the HTI team in 2018. She serves as the Benefits Coordinator and manages all our wellness initiatives.
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Each year, I write down my new set of resolutions. Unfortunately, they tend to be the same goals as the previous year.

And each year, come February or March, I have lost my motivation and gotten back into my same old rut. I have decided that 2020 will be different. One of my most common resolutions, the number one on my list year after year, is to get back in shape. As 2019 is coming to end, I know that will be number one on my list again. How can I make sure that 2020 is different? By following these steps: writing my list down, breaking my goal into smaller pieces, making sure my goals are reasonable, setting a timeline, and telling others of my goals I will be successful.

Writing down your goal should always be your number one step if you want to stay committed to it.

Writing it down makes it seem like it is on a to-do list and is, therefore, less easily ignored. I plan to print my list out and have it on my desk at home or in my bathroom. Make sure to put your list somewhere you will see it often as a reminder.

Having a goal as broad as “getting in shape” is setting me up for failure.

Where do I begin? How is it tracked? The bigger the goal, the more daunting it appears. Thus, the more likely you are going to either never start or quit trying early on. Breaking it into smaller goals gives you more successes which keeps you motivated and on track. I plan to have several mini goals like run a 5k in 30 minutes and be able to hold a plank for 1 minute. They can be as small as you need to keep you motivated and see progress.

Baby steps!

The surest way to fail at sticking to your yearly resolutions is by having an unreasonable goal. By unreasonable I mean setting a goal that is so intense or huge that there is no way you can complete it.

Setting a timeline or a due date for a goal puts more pressure on you to get to it and not waste time!

There is no time like the present! For instance, one of my goals was to be able to run a 5K in 30 minutes. I will set my deadline for May first. That gives me 4 solid months to accomplish this goal, which is plenty of time if I work at it.

Telling others of your goals hold you accountable.

A coworker and I have a plan to go on the Whole30 diet for the month of January to jump start our new year. A friend and I are working on our running goals. Having a support system encourages you to keep at your goal. If I am having a hard time being motivated to run, my friend will by my hype girl and vise versa.

My 2020 New Years Resolutions will be different than my previous years and I feel that this is the year I will be able to complete them using these methods to keep me motivated.