Look, we all want to set and achieve goals. We're taught that to get ahead in life--at anything--that we have to have goals. But goals and resolutions are not the same thing.
Goals are specific. They are measurable. They are attainable. They are realistic. Sure, they may push you beyond your comfort zone, but you have to be able to reach a goal if it is to be valid--at least according to every goal-setting guru I've ever talked to or read.
Resolutions however tend to be some lofty ideal that we think of as a goal. They may be measurable, but they are typically pretty general and are usually not realistically attainable. They are just too huge and often they are all or nothing type deals.
A typical weight loss resolution will be something like this:
I resolve to stop eating junk food.
Or like this:I resolve to exercise every day.
I'm not saying these are not admirable intentions, but come on, let's get real. Sure we would all be better off if we didn't eat junk food and we exercised daily. But the way these resolutions read if we eat junk food ONCE we have mucked up the works, so we might as well throw in the towel. We will actually self-sabotage ourselves with these kinds of resolutions if we haven't addressed why we are overweight in the first place.
So we break the resolution. We break the resolution because it is too strict, too limiting and it doesn't allow us to be human! Instead of recognizing that though we use it as an opportunity to criticize ourselves. We end up feeling bad about ourselves and go right back to our unhealthy, pre-resolution life and consider ourselves a failure, again.
Throw away the resolutions! Instead be more gently on yourself and let aim for improving your health. This gives you some leeway and allows you to be successful every day!
Improving your health means making more healthy choices than non-healthy ones.It means learning about your weight loss mindset--why you have gotten overweight and why you have struggled to lose weight. It means learning something about nutrition that you didn't before. It means moving your body more than you did before--even just a little bit. Improving your health means caring enough about yourself to treat your body and your spirit in a loving way--no more beating up on yourself for not being a size 2.
I guess if I'm going to have a resolution this year, it is to no longer make resolutions. Oops, guess I broke it...but at least it isn't something I have to feel guilty about!
So we break the resolution. We break the resolution because it is too strict, too limiting and it doesn't allow us to be human! Instead of recognizing that though we use it as an opportunity to criticize ourselves. We end up feeling bad about ourselves and go right back to our unhealthy, pre-resolution life and consider ourselves a failure, again.
Throw away the resolutions! Instead be more gently on yourself and let aim for improving your health. This gives you some leeway and allows you to be successful every day!
Improving your health means making more healthy choices than non-healthy ones.It means learning about your weight loss mindset--why you have gotten overweight and why you have struggled to lose weight. It means learning something about nutrition that you didn't before. It means moving your body more than you did before--even just a little bit. Improving your health means caring enough about yourself to treat your body and your spirit in a loving way--no more beating up on yourself for not being a size 2.
I guess if I'm going to have a resolution this year, it is to no longer make resolutions. Oops, guess I broke it...but at least it isn't something I have to feel guilty about!
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