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
