Keeping Up With Your Resolutions
March 12, 2020
Written By Kevin Cobb, Personal Trainer
New Years is a great time to make a change. People often set high goals but end up keeping little to none of those goals. Are you one of the many people who feel that you have given up on your resolutions and goals already? Do you feel like you are still on pace to keep your goals but running out of motivation? I’m going to give you 5 simple steps to keep pushing so that you can succeed in maintaining your New Year’s resolutions.
Find the Why to What You Do
Many people know what they do, but only the most successful people have identified their why. We drive off of having a purpose. Without a purpose, what’s the point of doing something you don’t feel like doing? Motivation is something that constantly changes. When you know your why to what you do, you can develop discipline to be consistent even when your motivation levels are low. In order to develop a hunger to be more consistent and disciplined, you must change your way of thinking. Instead of thinking about how hard you must work—think about the happiness you will feel from fulfilling your goals.
Make Realistic Goals
I have a lot of friends who know that I am a personal trainer, so they often tell me their fitness related resolutions. Most of them tell me that they are going from being a couch potato to working out every single day! During the first few weeks of the year I usually see them every single day at the gym. Once the enthusiasm runs out, they are right back to where they started. Why? Because they set unrealistic goals for themselves. While some people may think that drastic change works, the majority of people do not have that type of will-power to sustain such a dramatic change. When it comes to making goals, we should remember to keep them S.M.A.R.T.
Specific: In order to achieve something, you must know what you are trying to achieve.
Measurable: Track your progress so you can see if you are going in the right direction.
Attainable: You want it to challenge you, but it should also be possible.
Relevant: When you achieve this goal will it be worth it?
Timely: Having a time limit will give you a sense of urgency to keep pushing.
Let Yesterday Die
There is a reason why we have days, weeks, and years—it is to signify beginnings and endings. It is dangerous to let yesterday’s failures or successes dictate what you do today. Michael Jordan said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” This is a prime example of not letting the fear of failure dictate your next move. He took his failures and used them as fuel to better himself. Not only do you need to let yesterday’s failure die, you also need to let yesterday’s successes die as well. Often the biggest setback to progress is past success. Don’t think just because you did something good yesterday that you’re done for today. Always strive to improve, because no one else is your competition. You are competing to beat your best self.
Know Yourself and Know Your Worth
There was a point in time where I didn’t know who I was. I tried to find my identity in football, then school work, then a relationship. And they all failed me. I was at an all-time low and didn’t feel like there was any hope for me. But, when I asked the Lord to fulfill me, everything changed. Instead of trying to find my worth in what I do, I now find my worth in who He is. When you know that you are a king/queen in Christ, the thought of failing does not bother you because you know that what Jesus did on the cross has made you victorious before you even fight the battle.
V-check is something I have been saying since I had this revelation, and it stands for victory check. I say this to myself every time I go into a situation that I feel like is too much for me. I know that my victory has been won through Jesus at the cross, so no matter the situation I win! I don’t fight for victory, but from victory! Adopt this mindset in everything you do and remember that the only reason why we have victory is because we put our faith in Jesus.
Set Your Priorities
Feed what you want to grow. Every day you should feed your passion in some type of way. Your passion is what God created you to do, so do it to the best of your abilities and show God’s glory through what you do! As college students we are in a great spot to feed our passions because we can lock in on doing what we were called to do. This might mean you have to sacrifice some fun and sleep in order to pursue your goals, but it will be worth it in the end. Look at what you are doing every day and ask yourself, “is what I’m doing helping me reach my goals?”. If not, then you need to realign your priorities and do what is going to benefit you in the long run. You can still take a break and have fun, but you need to make decisions that will shoot you toward your goals!