New Year, New Goals

Written By PFC Fitness Camp • 5 min read

It’s time to make your 2022 New Year’s Resolution the one that sticks! To say you can feel the excitement in the air for 2021 to be over is an understatement… and while 2021 has been one heck of a year and the plight for many has been beyond heartbreaking, that doesn’t mean it’s all been negative. For many of us, 2021 has shed light on how much we tend to neglect our self-care efforts and time. For some, it has offered an opportunity to chase new and exciting hobbies, goals, and personal endeavors. It’s time to take a moment and begin contemplating how we can take what we’ve learned last year and transform it into a true goal for 2022.

So… 2022 New Year’s Resolution… resolution… what does “resolution” actually mean?

Resolution: A firm decision to do, or not to do, something.

Interesting… most people think of a New Year’s Resolution as something they want to do, not a decision that they’ve made after reviewing what went well and what needs improvement on their past goals and habits. Most people give up on their new year goal within the first two weeks… not much of a “resolution” is it?
Or, perhaps your resolution is actually something you’ve made a firm decision to do or not to do, but for some reason, you just can never seem to get it done?
We have some how-to tips on setting yourself up for success for your “New year, new me, new goals” agenda!

1. Get Specific
   This is SO important. Saying “I want to start working out.” is not specific enough. Try giving yourself a specific goal with a reason. “I want to go to the gym 2x/week for 45 minutes so I can build strength and a healthy habit that will help me lose weight and boost my confidence.” THAT is specific. THAT is something you write down, put on your bathroom mirror, and read every day that will help revamp your motivation to work out. Think about where you will work on this goal, who else is involved, why this goal is important to you, and which resources or limits are involved. Get specific.
2. Stay Measurable
   Tracking progress is essential to keep yourself motivated. While we don’t notice how our body or mind changes day-to-day, we can see big differences over time if we have a way to document our progress. For example, if your goal is to build muscle strength and lose weight, taking progress photos and having a weekly fitness check-in (like tracking how long you can hold a plank, how many push-ups you can do in one minute, or how many squats you can perform with 70% of your body weight, etc.) can prove how much you’re progressing every week. Sometimes our bodies don’t show the strength we’re building right away, so having a log to track your progress can serve as a way to measure your effort and the progress that pays off from it! Think long-term, compound interest.
3. Make It Achievable
   While it’s essential to have big dreams and goals for yourself… it’s just as important to set yourself up for success. Saying something along the lines of “I want to lose 60lbs in 30 days!” is beyond extreme and very unrealistic. Now, having a goal of losing 60lbs to reach a healthy weight is fantastic, but it’s important to set mini-goals that lead to losing that 60lbs over time. Setting a goal to lose 1-2lbs a week is achievable weekly and long term, and most importantly- safe and healthy, and sustainable. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
4. Get Relevant
   This step is about picking a goal that matters to you. Picking a goal that isn’t relevant to the life you want to lead or the person you want to become will set you up for failure. Ask yourself the following questions to make sure your goals are relevant (you should be able to answer ‘yes’ to all of them if the goal is right for you): Does this seem worthwhile? Is this the right time? Does this match my other efforts/needs? Stay focused.
5. Time-Bound
   Make sure your goal is something you access in a specific amount of time. As previously stated, wanting to lose 60lbs in one month is unrealistic and cannot be accomplished in that time frame without seriously risking long-term health issues. What can you do six months from now? How about six weeks? Six days? The next six hours? Set a goal in a specific time frame, then when you reach your goal “deadline” take a moment to reflect on what went well and how far you’ve come! It is so important to celebrate our efforts in order to maintain motivation. It’s ok if you fell short with the goal you were aiming for, you know why? Because you still did more than you would have if you hadn’t worked towards this goal in the first place! Give yourself grace, and soon enough you’ll cross the finish line.

Many of our resolution goals revolve around weight… “I want to weigh less”, “I want to lose 20 lbs”, “I want to fit into those size 2 jeans I wore 25 years ago”… and the list goes on, and on, and on. I want to encourage you to reframe your goal in words that support a healthy lifestyle- both physically and mentally. For example, saying “I want to build the strength to do 3 pull-ups in six months” is much better than “I want to lose all the fat on my arms.” Learning to do pull-ups is challenging and requires full-body strength training that will help you to lose body fat while building muscle. This will give you a strong, lean, healthy physique that not only looks nice but can actually lift heavy things! Change your mindset from trying to whittle yourself away to building physical strength, confidence, and self-love. The weight loss will be an awesome bonus!

Hope this helps you create some fun and achievable goals for 2022! If you’d like to learn more about how to set and build healthy goals, check out these blogs: Healthy at Home: How to stay fit & motivated, Healthy Habits & How To Build Them