Everyone knows them: New Year’s resolutions. We are already in the second week of January. Are you still working on your set intentions? Or do you still have to start working on them? No problem! You can start with your good intentions every day of the year. In this blog we will tell you how you have the highest chance of reaching your goals in 2019!
The origin behind the urge of good intentions
If we are talking about good intentions, or your ‘New Year’s resolutions’, we all know the most common ones: losing weight, exercising more or quit smoking. Usually, we start with these good intentions at the start of a new year, because we often see this as a new and fresh start.
In reality it has to do with a psychological effect, which is a consequence of all the holidays in the month of December. During the holidays, we almost all do the same: sit, eat, drink, and do nothing. The consequence? We do not feel comfortable anymore.
After the holidays, you get a strong urge to live healthy. However, this is an impure type of motivation: your mind and body try to overcompensate the ‘’bad things’’ you have done by strengthening the urge for healthy living. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it does bring a couple of obstacles and traps along.
Obstacles and traps
As mentioned, you have different types of obstacles and traps that can stand in your way if you want to achieve your goal in 2019. For example, you have everyday obstacles. Think about coming home late from work, so you don’t do the workout you planned, or you order dinner instead of cooking it yourself.
If you enter the new year with good intentions based on impure motivation, you run the risk of losing your motivation quite fast. As soon as you are back in your normal rhythm (so the rhythm of everyday life), the motivation to live a healthy life is suddenly far away. Your body is accustomed to this and no longer has the urge to overcompensate, because you are back in the normal rhythm what it is used to.
If you really want to achieve your goals this year, it is important to set your goals from pure motivation. This also means that you can start with your good intentions any time in the year!
Feasibility of your goal: be realistic
The most important thing when setting your goals for 2019? Be realistic. Look at what you really could achieve, rather than at the ultimate goal you would ever want to achieve. Dreaming is allowed, but always stay realistic! It will help you reach more goals eventually.
Another important fact: you do not achieve success at once, but with trial and error. Be aware that sometimes you will have setbacks. But it is important to pick up where you had those setbacks, and to keep striving for the goal that you had in mind.
And then another small tip: break your goal into smaller goals. Do you want to lose weight? Then first start with the small goal of, for example, losing 1 kg of weight. Do you want to quit smoking? Then reduce your smoking behaviour by 50% first. This way, you will definitely achieve your goals in 2019!
What are your good intentions for 2019?
Do you also have goals that you really want to achieve in 2019? Use the NiceDay app to note them. For example, use the functions of the app to keep track of how you feel when you are working towards your goals. This way, you can gain more insight in what helps you and what sets you back in achieving your goals.
