THESE DAYS JANUARY 19 is labelled as “Quitters Day,” the day most people are likely to give up their New Year’s resolutions. Back in the day, the majority of people gave up their resolutions by mid-February.
Every year I hear the cry of New Year’s resolutions from the same people saying the same thing and, in the back of my mind, I’m saying, ‘shut-up!’ People set outlandish goals that they can never keep in a month of Sundays. It would be a lot easier to keep just one resolution rather than loads and, even then, most of my friends find that difficult enough.
People are lazy; taking classes and spending a lot of money buying machines, gadgets and health and fitness must-haves that end up being shelved, which is money down the drain for many.
It happens to everyone. You see home exercise equipment in the store, all shiny and new. You impulsively reach for your credit card. A few weeks later, you’ve barely used it and you’re suffering from serious buyer’s remorse.
As many as 16% of those who bought equipment say they have never used the products, and 10% admit they don’t even get the equipment out of its packaging! Nearly a quarter of adults said they own, or have owned, an exercise bike. Followed by a further 20% who have bought a rower and almost a fifth own a gym ball. Billions of pounds are being wasted as a result.
For many, including one-fifth of Britons in the survey, the biggest problem is not having anyone at home to encourage them, which meant there was less pressure and less motivation to workout. In other words, because no one was watching, they felt able to give up after a few minutes – because they can do so – unnoticed and unaccountable.
One in seven Brits say that once they come home from work they end up chilling out and lying on the sofa rather than exercising.
How to make a resolution effective – at any time
Whether or not you kept your New Year’s resolutions comes down to how realistic your goals were, to “get in shape.” Failure is down to not being specific or realistic on how you do it?
If you want to lose weight, define what your specific weight loss goal is and give yourself a deadline to achieve it. Make the goal reasonable enough that you’re not intimidated by it, and the deadline realistic. For example, resolve to lose 10 pounds by the summer holidays (if we get them), and keep yourself honest with daily progress reports.
Progress reports are a good way to keep yourself motivated and moving in the right direction toward your goal; without them, we can become discouraged. And when we’re discouraged, we tend to give up on the goal.
Do you suffer from decision fatigue? The more decisions, even small ones, that you have to make in a day (including deciding to go for a walk or run, selecting healthy foods, and putting away cash for a rainy day), the more depleted your willpower and self-control will be as the day wears on. So, think about how you can incorporate small steps in your daily life so your goal will be automatic and require little or no decision effort.
If you have already broken or forgotten your resolutions, don’t beat yourself up. Take a step back, review your goals, and try these simple steps towards ensuring a successful fitness outcome.
