haaaaappy new year! we’re a week into 2015 & it’s time
to take a quick survey: how many of your new year’s resolutions are still in
tact?!
*cricket*cricket*
are you still there? don’t be afraid to be honest! if you’re
right on track, good for you & keep it up! but don’t worry: if your
resolutions for a “new you” have fallen to the waist side, you’re absolutely not
alone. the thing with new year’s resolutions is that there’s this magical aura
surrounding the fact that we now date our checks with 2015 instead of 2014 (or,
we write 2014, only to angrily grumble to ourselves while we try to turn the 4
into a 5…). i'm sorry to burst your champagne-induced bubble, but a new year
doesn’t automatically come with a 2.0 version of you. instead, it gives you a buzzfeed
list completely annotated with animated GIFs depicting hopes, promises &
expectations for the next 365 days that you didn’t really ask for, but were
shoved into your face at 2am while you peruse all forms of social media. you're
practically guilted into choosing a bad habit to try & get rid of, or
you’ve reluctantly signed over your soul & first-born for a new gym
membership because those emails promising a “reduced membership” kept flooding
your inbox & wore you down. but worst of all, you’re predestined to believe
that who you are right now is not good enough to carry over into the new year
without some kind of makeover.
well nerds, i'm very happy to tell you that this last
thought is most definitely not true.
the ugly truth is, january 1, 2015 was just another thirsty
thursday, shadowed by the thought of going back to work the very next day. you
didn’t wake up suddenly a 100% healthy person or with the work ethic of bill
gates, ryan secrest or beyoncé (& definitely not with their bank accounts or
personal assistants). instead, you woke up with a minor headache, slightly
dehydrated & most likely with your makeup smudged from your midnight kiss
the night before. the good news is that the hype from the new year was still
present, so your resolutions were still squeaky clean & gleaming bright.
but now as the christmas lights come down & the stores are already putting
out valentine’s day candy (like, really?!) the “new you” resolutions are
starting to lose their steam almost as quickly as your christmas trees are losing
their needles. but lucky for you, i have some tips on how to make your resolutions
last longer than that overpriced NYE open bar.
do you.
you need to be the person who comes up with your
resolutions, no one else. you have to want it more than your sister, brother,
parents, friends, roommates or cats. even if you join in on “group
resolutions”, make sure it’s something you
desire, or you’ll most likely be the first person to come up with an
excuse. if it’s something you want, you’ll make it happen, no matter what other
people say. you'll make the time & you’ll stick with it. but if it’s an
idea someone else came up with, you lose ownership & you won’t bat an
eyelash as soon as someone suggests returning your bag of resolutions for a glittery
tote full of bad habits. so do you &
you’ll be the one in control. it feels mighty nice, if i do say so myself.
baby steps.
rome wasn’t built in a day & quite frankly, neither was
channing tatum’s super hot magic mike bod. don't kid yourself & think that
you can suddenly eat a vegan diet, run a marathon & shake off all the haters
before you even get dressed for work. the reality is, if you set tiny goals for
yourself, they’ll build upon themselves, your confidence will grow & you’ll
ultimately find your way down the yellow brick road. so start off with one
change & as soon as that change turns into a habit, you’ll be ready for the
next one, & so on & so forth & sofi shorts.
moderation.
along the same lines as taking baby steps, don’t forget to
let yourself live. jesus may have
said that man cannot live on bread alone (mmmm carbs…), but man also can’t live
solely on overpriced green smoothies. we all need a little bit of the good
stuff every now & then. & the best part is, if you make a choice to
allow yourself a treat every week, or an extra rest day once in a while, you’re
more likely to be less upset about it. you won’t think of it as a failure &
a binge session of self-loathing is less likely to occur. so treat yourself to
a girls’ (or guys’) night out after a week full of sweaty gym sessions &
kale soups, because that one treat will be a mental refresher to jump start
another week of commitment.
accountability.
fiiiinally we get to the part where i can talk about me ;) just
kidding! kind of… but seriously, having people to help hold you accountable for
your resolutions is a sure fire way to increase your odds of sticking to them.
it's easy to wake up & say to yourself “i'm going to the gym after work
today”, but sometimes a rough day at the office won’t put you in a
treadmill-running mood. however, if you’ve promised to meet up with someone for
a lifting session, it’s much harder to bow out & go straight home. even a
quick text or desperate snapchat to your acountabilibuddy could be all the
motivation you need for you to decide to change into your gym shorts instead of
your PJs. so go out there & find a buddy with similar goals to harass on
the daily. follow those motivational instagram & twitter accounts (cough*
@TheFitnessNerds *cough) to give you a daily dose of inspiration. read this
blog (yes, this ridiculously on-point blog you’re reading right now!) to not
only laugh yourself into your very own 6-pack, but to also discover a few
things you may not have known before. need more one-on-one help? TheFitnessNerds
are just an email away (fitnessnerds@gmail.com)! we're always around for a
swift kick of motivation right where you need it ;)
so extreeeemely long story short: you don’t need a life
makeover to take part in 2015. you can continue being the amazing, life-living
human you’ve always been. but if you do feel the need for slight alterations, i
hope this post helped you see that resolutions are only as solid as your own
drive & determination. resolutions aside, there’s no doubt that this year
is going to be a great one. i can promise you that & we at TFNHQ hope you
join us. let's run a lap around the sun, shall we?
lace up!
xx TFNHQ
