It’s that time of year where many people resolve to fix everything that’s wrong with their lives. That’s right, it’s time for New Years Resolutions. Now a lot of people MAKE New Years Resolutions, but as we all know, far too many people fail to even make a decent attempt to keep any of their resolutions. Why? Well, the whole idea of resolutions – making a 180 degree shift in the way you live your life in a single day – is absolutely flawed. I’ve never made resolutions, but I have made meaningful changes in my life. So I’m going to share five alternatives to resolutions that actually work and can help you have the life you want in 2010.
- Set Goals: Instead of resolutions, set shorter-term goals. I like to set new goals each quarter. The shorter time frame helps me focus on an action plan, and the deadline is close enough to keep me motivated.
- Find your Inspiration: Decide what you want to change about yourself, and find someone who has already done it. (I gave you seven great inspirational stories yesterday.) Read up on them, talk to them if you can, and post ticklers around your house, in your wallet, on the fridge, or wherever it will help you to think, “what would _____ do?”
- Focus on Habits: Rather than focusing on outcomes (”I want to lose 20 pounds,” or “I want to pay off my debt,”) focus on habits. For instance, “I will eat vegetables (or fruit) and protein at every meal,” or “I will stop eating when I’m full” are both great habits to develop, and you can keep working towards full compliance over time.
- Start Small: The wholesale changes people set out for themselves at the turn of the year often set themselves up for failure. If you don’t work out at all now, instead of resolving to go to the gym four times per week, plan to exercise just one hour per week. Once you’ve got that down, move to two hours, then three. Eventually, you’ll reach four hours per week without it seeming like torture.
- Reject Resolutions: One of the issues with resolutions is that once people blow them, they figure, “oh well, I’ll try again next year.” If you never make resolutions, you can’t let yourself off the hook that easily. Have a bad eating day? Miss an entire week at the gym? Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again NOW, first thing, not next week, next month, or next year.
As for me, I’ve never been one for New Years Resolutions, but I do like setting short-term goals and making plans to meet them. I went 2-for-3 on my fourth-quarter goals in 2009, and hope to do even better with new goals I’m setting in 2010. Now if YOU are looking to get fit in 2010, there are two current sales that might be able to help you.
- The first is the Turbulence Training sale which I mentioned in yesterday’s post, What can a Transformation Contest do for you? The basic membership/program plus bonuses are 50% off through 9pm today, January 1, 2010. Plus, if I receive a commission from your purchase, I will share 50% of my commission with you! You can’t beat that deal! Turbulence Training is great because it gives you short, effective workouts that you can change up every four weeks!
- The second tool is for those of you with an iPhone. It’s an app from DailyBurn, called Foodscanner. In Foodscanner, you take a picture of a barcode, and the app loads in the nutritional information for the product and helps you log what you’ve eaten. It integrates great with the site, so that you can use it to track your eating with very little manual intervention and data input. The app is on sale for just $0.99 through January 5, 2010!
So if you are doing Turbulence Training workouts, and tracking your calorie and nutritional intake via Foodscanner and DailyBurn, you’ll be well on your way to a fitter and healthier you in 2010! Please comment and let me know which of these tips you’ll be using as an alternative to resolutions!
Disclosure: After my success using Turbulence Training to reshape my body and lose weight, I became an affiliate. If you purchase Turbulence Training products through links on my site, I will receive a 75% commission of the purchase price.
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Hey Liz, I agree with the post – we think similarly as you may know…haha.
I wish you a great new year ahead! Great job on your latest transformation.
Anna