New Year, New You!

Tips on making resolutions and goals that you can achieve

Triathlon Magazine January 2, 2019

— by Lauren Brandon

2019 is here – what does that mean for you?

Did you make new resolutions or goals for this year? Are you going to try to train more or eat healthier? Do you want to live a more balanced life? We all tend to make a lot of resolutions and goals at the beginning of the year, but how many of us are actually able to keep our resolutions and goals going all year long?

The month of January is always filled with a ton of people in the gym, but what starts to happen in February and March? People get busy, start to make excuses, and we see fewer people continue to strive for success in terms of achieving their resolutions and goals. 2019 can be different. It’s time to start the year off right and stay on track for the entire year.

Take the time to sit down and set goals.

Here are some tips for making realistic resolutions and goals for 2019:

Write your resolutions and goals down. This will hold you more accountable.
Have resolutions and goals that motivate and excite you. They should have meaning. If you want to get stronger, fitter, or healthier, then you need to know why you want those things. For example, I want to do more strength training because it will help me get stronger so that I can race faster and be less prone to injury.
Make sure your resolutions and goals are attainable. You want goals that are challenging, but that you can actually achieve. You are setting yourself up for failure if your goal is to workout every day or to never eat sugar. Consistency is key, so a better goal might be to workout 4-5 times a week and to cut back on the sugar by having regular coffee and milk instead of specialty sweet drinks.
Your resolutions and goals should be specific. A goal of “eating healthier” is too broad. Try to make this statement more specific by saying “I am going to eat 2 different types of vegetables per day.”
It is best to have both long-term goals and “process” goals. If my long-term goal is to break an hour in an Ironman swim in October, then how am I going to do that? I need a process goal such as “ I will swim 5 times a week or 20k a week.”

Have a seat, write your goals down, and set yourself up for a successful 2019.