It’s almost the new year and people will be trying to think of New Year’s resolutions. My tip to you: DON’T! Don’t waste your time with empty resolutions and false promises to yourself. Instead, make a commitment!
Make a commitment to better yourself in some way. That could be healthier eating, starting an exercise routine, taking care of your mental health, and of course, starting a new hobby like martial arts. Saying is always easier than doing, so here are 3 tricks to keeping a commitment to yourself:
Tweak your environment
Creating habits that stick
Use positive-focused goals
Let me explain:
• Tweak your environment. This can be something like having your workout bag or your gi bag by the door and ready to go before you head out to the dojo. Let’s say you work out at 6 am, you’re much more likely to actually get to your workout if your gym clothes are ready the night before, rather than fumbling through your dresser drawers in the cold, dark morning when all you want to do is climb back into bed. Or if you’re a serial snoozer and snooze your alarm through your goals, do something simple like setting your alarm across your room so you’re forced to get out of bed when it goes off.
• Creating habits that stick. Aristotle said: ”We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit.” If you’re picking up a new hobby, like martial arts, make sure you create habits around your goals. An example would be set days that you know you’re going to the dojo, don’t just go when it’s convenient or you feel like it. Hopefully, you don’t just brush your teeth or feed your kids when you feel like it, you create habits that become a part of your life. Creating habits around health and fitness are exactly the same.
• And finally, use positive-focused goals. These are best described with the opposite: avoidance goals. When I say, “Don’t think of a purple elephant”, what is the first thing you think of? Of course, a purple elephant. If you’re trying to change your diet, don’t make a list of foods to avoid, make a list of the healthy foods you need to be eating. In short, focus on what you need to do, not on what you don’t.
Ring in the new year right, make a commitment to yourself. It may be difficult, but all the good things in life take work and patience.
Let’s train!
