Make 2021 a great year for yourself! In order to do that, you have to have a plan, you have to be strategic, and you need to know how you’re going to do it. We’ve come up with some ways that will make your hopes, goals, and dreams become a reality.
1. Set S.M.A.R.T Goals
What is a SMART goal? Here is what it stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound
Define your goals as clearly as possible, this way you will know exactly what you want. Saying you want to be healthy is too vague and therefore harder to achieve. Saying you want to gain 10 pounds of muscle in 2 months by going to the gym every day is much more attainable.
Make sure you write it down, set a plan, make a schedule, live it, breathe it, do it.
Here's an example:
"I am going to drink 10 extra ounces of water every day for a whole week by setting reminders on my phone starting February 1st."
2. Get an Accountability Partner
Having a friend or someone who can check up on you will keep you accountable to your goals. On the contrary, you can also keep your partner accountable. Create a habit of going to the gym together a few days a week.
3. It’s All About Progression
If you go hard right out of the gate you might injure yourself. If you try to run 10 miles without ever running before you’ll hate it. Think small steps towards a big goal. One of our founders went and hiked part of the Pacific Crest Trail which is a 2,650-mile trail going from Mexico to Canada but instead of looking at that hike as a 2,650-mile hike he looked at it as a lot of week backpacking trips.
4. Make Sure You Love it!
Studies have shown that when you like to do something, like yoga or working out, you are more likely to stick with it. Find something fun that keeps you moving! We like parkour, yoga, and lifting weights. It’s fun to do so it’s not a task when we go to do those things and it keeps us fit and moving!
5. Eat Your Cookie
One common misconception is that if you ever want to be healthy you don’t eat ANY junk food at all, zip, zilch, nada! Well, we say eat your cookie, or whatever your craving is. Why? The reason you should eat the craving is that there is a vicious cycle that occurs if you don’t. It goes a little something like this:
Pass up the cookie, still hungry, eats a "healthy" version, still not satisfied so grabs another less "healthy" snack and eats it, still not satisfied, eat the whole package of cookies because the craving was too strong.
You could have just eaten one cookie in the beginning to satisfy yourself but now you’ve gone and eaten two other snacks and a whole package of cookies. That is why you should not be afraid to eat your cravings. Just don’t overdo it, especially with sugar. It is called intuitive eating.
6. Prioritize Yourself
If there is anything in this world that you should put first, it’s yourself. If you say you don’t have time to work-out, you are just truly lying to yourself.
You have 24 hours in a day and you sleep 6-8 which leaves you with 16-18 hours left. You go to work for 8 hours and now you have about 10 hours left. You do some errands, you chill say for about 1-2 hours, you still have 8 hours left. Maybe it takes you an hour to commute, still, 7 hours left. Maybe you chill, talk, hang out for another 2 hours, that still leaves you with 5 hours left in your day. It’s time you make a change, say you have time, make the time, prioritize the time, do it the same time every day and be healthy! No excuses. Your health is your life.
7. Diversify Your Movement Practice
We always like to preach that you should do different things in your life when it comes to movement. This allows for different training methods with a whole slew of benefits. This also helps you keep things fresh and fun! Maybe you do Yoga on Sundays, lift weights a couple of times a week, do calisthenics one day, and rest on other days.
Thanks for reading and we hope you get to your goals this year. It’s going to be an exciting year but only if you make it that way. Remember to implement these things. Go do it right now!