About 92% of us never see our New Year’s resolutions through according to research from the University of Scranton.There’s even an unofficial holiday called Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day on Jan. 17 to acknowledge those failures. So, what can we do to ensure our January promises are kept and our fitness goals continue on month after month after month? 

Make the Promise Real

Promises that typically don’t work are those that are overly grandiose, like declaring you will lose 50 pounds instead of exercising three times a week. Vague plans are also easy to undermine. If you don't have a plan in place on how you will exactly lose your weight, then it's easy to go off course. New Year’s resolutions work best when they are specific, realistic, publicly proclaimed and preplanned.

Make More Than One Promise

Studies have shown that actions that involve two linked behaviors can mutually benefit one another. So if you have two goals naturally linked to one another—like diet and exercise, or saving money and sticking to a monthly budget—you can safely try to go for two. People who find a healthy substitute for a behavior they are cutting out are more successful, too. If you suddenly stop smoking, you will be more anxious, so you need to exercise or meditate to replace the effects of nicotine, for example.

Don't Worry

No one is perfect and you're likely to slip up on your commitment. The term is called “abstinence violation”. 

If you stayed on an exercise regimen for several weeks and then missed a week, don't worry.  Maybe work duties got in the way or even a brief illness.  Don't think you blew it. Get back on the horse and keep going. It's human to make mistakes. It's inhuman to think you're infallible.

 

Keep it Fun

One thing we absolutely have to do is keep things interesting. Mundane exercise routines are the kiss of death. And working out alone may make us more likely to quit.

 

There are many group exercise activities out there where the organizers know how to keep it fresh. There are also ways to feel part of a community right on your own treadmill, elliptical or bike. For example, on a Landice treadmill and with one of our partner apps, RunSocial, you can connect real-time with other runners. With RunSocial, you can also run through real-world videos of beautiful locations. Inside your video, you'll see avatars doing the same real-time run from around the world. And they'll see you too. You will be able to experience RunSocial’s completely new "mixed reality" technology blending HD real-world video, 3D virtual world capability and social connectivity. 

 

Whatever your resolutions may be, we hope 2018 brings you great health, peace-of-mind and some mental glue to keep you sticking to your plan. Happy New Year!