With the singing of Auld Lang Syne comes reflection on the past year. Also a look forword and hope for better things to come. This brings with it, the ever so popular and often alcohol influenced New Years resolutions, be it fitness related or not. The time when many people pledge to improve themselves and be BETTER then last year.  Now this is  all fine and dandy, but does anyone ever really think they are really going to follow through with any of that stuff.  Not many!  Why, because it’s just something we say.  Everyone else is proclaiming to commit to some form of transformation, you might as well join the pack.  I know this sounds pessimistic, but you’ve got to admit you see it all the time.  People pile into the gyms and fitness centres thinking this will be the year of washboard abs and muscle bulging shirt sleeves.  When in reality, mid February hits and all those same people with great intentions fade beneath a ton of excuses.

Wait a minute, I haven’t totally given up on mankind. I know we still need to set goals.  What I do think is that the majority of people are just going about it the wrong way.

What I feel is the key to setting a goal and achieving it is the transformation of bad habits into good habits.  I definitely think this is the number one reason people succeed or fail.  And by the way we should never be afraid to fail.  Now I know this may sound like common sense, but believe me you would be surprised.  A simple example of this would be drinking more water then pop.  Another one could be switching from white processed carbs to whole grains when cooking.

Creating a good habit from a bad habit will take time.  Experts have found that it takes roughly 40 days to learn a new habit.  If you can stick to the transformation for a solid 2 months you should have a great chance of success!

You know what else can sabotage a lot of people?  Trying to change too many behaviors at once.  All this seems to do is overwhelm us.  It eats away at our will power until we break.  What so many people do is change their eating habits, training routine, recreational activity, social life, family life, and a host of other behaviors at the same time.  It’s too much for most people.  What I find works best is taking one action every couple of weeks and concentrating on that single behavior.  It’s less stressful and gives us the feeling that we can do this. There is not the pressure of trying to change everything all in one shot.

All these changes will add up.  The result being less fat, more muscle, and a highly functioning body.  Again the key is changing these habits one at a time, over several weeks.  This will definitely give you a much better chance of making these behaviors  part of a new and improved lifestyle.

I hope this tip will help you make New Years Resolutions the goal setting ritual it was intended to be.  Make 2012 your best year ever!

Next up I’ll dive into some goal setting tips to get you off to a good start.  Talk to you soon.