The COVID-19 pandemic has brought us a lot of uncertainty, and it has even seeped through all the goals we’ve set for ourselves over the past two years. It’s hard to stay committed when something as bleak as a health crisis is hanging over our heads. However, there’s no better time to push through with our health goals than right at this very moment.
Focusing on our health now will strengthen us and keep us in tip-top shape so that we can keep creating goals and achieving them year after year after year.
We’re already proud of you for wanting to stay committed to your health-related goals! To help you persevere, we’ve prepared some tips for you below.
1. Take A Deeper Look At Why You’re Setting These Goals
Why do you want to achieve the goals you’ve laid out for yourself? It gets hard to stick to your goals when you don’t even know why they’re there in the first place. Whenever you’re coming up with any kind of goal—whether it’s related to your health or not—write down your reasons. Better yet, put them all on a notecard and stick it on your mirror. This way, you’ll always have a reminder of them.
To help you out, here are some questions to ask yourself when writing your goals:
Why is this goal so important to me?
What will happen when I achieve this goal or make it a habit?
Will this goal bring me closer to the best version of myself? How?
Will this goal improve my life? Why or why not?
Setting your goals is tough in and of itself, but when you pursue them without any kind of purpose, you might just end up ditching them halfway through. Your health goals are personal. Every time you feel like doing away with them, remind yourself of your reasons, your whys. These are what will keep you committed to making these lifestyle changes.
2. Focus On One Thing At A Time
If you’re trying to make adjustments to your lifestyle to achieve certain goals don’t do everything at once.
Focus on just one behaviour at a time. Cramming exercise, losing weight, and quitting smoking in a few months will only lead you down a rabbit hole of failure. Choose one target behaviour that you’ve wanted to change for the longest time. Have just this one goal and go after it.
Another thing to keep in mind is to take things one day at a time. Avoid thinking too far into the future as much as possible.
3. Schedule Your Exercise
Trick your mind into thinking about the importance of exercise. Mark your calendar for your workouts just like you’d schedule your doctor’s appointments. Don’t let meetings, phone calls, chores, and other to-dos get in the way of your time to work out.
Doing this will prepare you mentally, resulting in you not skipping it or cutting your time too short. If exercise just isn’t for you, you can look into alternative activities such as walking, gardening, dance, or even taking a Thai massage class.
4. Mark Your Calendar
Speaking of schedules, you can make this entire process of committing to your health goals a little more fun by seeing your progress over time. Get a calendar that you can stick on a wall and write an "X" or a checkmark on the days when you stick to your goals.
Whether that’s drinking more water, exercising, sleeping longer, or going the entire day without sugar, mark it. When you see how consistent you’ve been, you’ll think twice about skipping the next day.
5. Take Those Selfies!
Sometimes, we can’t see our own progress with our naked eye, especially when the change is gradual. So take selfies of yourself! Progress photos will show you how far you’ve come. Not only will they track your progression, but they will also keep you motivated.
You might not see it when you stand in front of your mirror, but you can’t deny the changes you’ve made when you compare every photo to one another. These progress selfies are great for goals such as weight loss or gain, skincare, and hair health or length.
6. Keep A Journal
Aside from taking progress photos, you can also try journaling. Record how you feel as you implement your healthy habits, keep a log of what you eat each day, write your reflections until you achieve clarity—doing one or all of these will help you carve out your path to success. Having something tangible to track the steps you’ve taken is extremely rewarding.
7. Find An Accountability Partner
When achieving goals, sometimes two heads are better than one. Ask a friend, family member, or even a stranger to keep you from skipping your exercise sessions or remind you to drink water or prepare good meals for yourself. It’s best to look for someone who has similar fitness or health goals as you so that, together, you can keep helping each other move forward.
8. Focus On The Small Wins
Having all your goals laid out in front of you may be highly motivating, but reaching them never happens overnight. It might be a little frustrating when they take longer to complete than you’ve planned.
Instead of focusing solely on the big picture, split your journey down into smaller milestones. Celebrate every little victory as it will encourage you to continue working toward your goal.
9. Stop Comparing Yourself To Others
Someone will always be stronger, faster, more flexible than you are. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Remind yourself that every one you get inspiration from to started somewhere. With a lot of effort and perseverance, they worked their way to where they are today.
Comparing yourself to others is pointless. What they can do has no bearing on you personally. What matters most is what you can do. Focus on yourself and commit to yourself.
10. Reward Yourself
You’ll always deserve a pat on the back when you’ve done something you’re proud of. So go and have that full body massage, see a new movie, buy that outfit you’ve had your eyes on for ages—do anything that makes you feel good because you deserve it.
You Can Do It!
Staying committed to health-related goals takes dedication, but we believe in you. Keep the tips above in mind and heart. Soon enough, these goals of yours will all turn into habits that will keep you healthy and strong for whatever the world throws at you next.
Kat Sarmiento -Content Writer
katreena.contentstudio@gmail.com