The new year often begins with plenty of resolutions, dreams, hopes, wishes and hopefully a little excitement about your future plans. Setting your intentions at the beginning of the year is very worthwhile but making unrealistic resolutions is not. How many years in a row have you said, "this year I am going to get fit, I am defintely going to stress less and going to quit that Friday night wine habit."?
Goal setting should be SMART, meaning specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. Don't set goals that are vague and drastic, they are too hard to follow and assess along the way. You are basically setting yourself up to fail, which cues negative self esteem and a tendency to fall back into old comforting habits.
If you want to get fit, set a goal of going to the gym twice a week and go for an hour walk three times a week. If you want to improve your eating habits, swap eating take away on Friday night to cooking at home creating your own pizzas on wholemeal pita breads. Another great goal to set for the new year is to have alcohol free nights at least three times a week.
To aid in your goal setting and planning for the new year, the health and wellness community have a few fantastic suggestions for making 2014 AWESOME. Read on for five fabulous tips to create a life you love.
