The idea of beginning with a clean slate every New Year drives many individuals to make promises to change for the better—promises more popularly known as New Year’s resolutions. Data reveal the most common resolutions made every calendar change are centered on fitness and health: to get fit, be active, lose weight.
Sadly, as soon as the second week of January, some resolute individuals begin waving the white flag, and in sadder news, a 2012 online study found 73 percent gave up before meeting their goals.
And now that there’s only five months left in 2019, it’s possible that those who have slipped already gave up on accomplishing their fitness resolutions. A leading wearable brand shares these tips to encourage everyone to get back on track and make good on the promises they made to themselves.
Remember your ‘Why’
Fitbit advises individuals to go back to the time they set their goals and remember why they wanted to achieve them in the first place. “Instead of thinking about how difficult it is to stay consistent, think about the benefits for you and your body.” Instead of looking at goals as high mountains to climb, it’s better to see them as a guiding force to be better.
The wearable brand’s Personal Goal Setting feature on the app provides step-by-step interactive guide that generates appropriate goals that indicate where the user is in their health journey.
Those who haven’t met yet the goals they set at the beginning of the year, could recalibrate them to make them more attainable. Fitbit says, “as soon as you get the hang of meeting your daily goals, kick it up a notch and challenge yourself.”
Lose the ‘all or nothing’ mindset
When people set goals and resolutions related to health and fitness, they often feel like they must be perfect and consistent. The tendency with this type of mindset is that if they skip a gym session or have a cupcake, they spiral downward and eventually give up completely.
The trick, it says, is to aim for an 80 percent success rate. “If you lessen the restrictions in this way and give yourself more allowance for occasional ‘slip-ups’ or treats, like a doughnut or skipped workout, you’re less likely to fall completely off-course.”
In addition, according to Chris Berdik, science journalist and author of Mind Over Mind, people ditch their New Year’s resolutions because they typically set large, unattainable goals for themselves rather than small easy ones that they most likely be able to stick to.
Fitbit believes it helps to celebrate the small wins. In the greater scheme, every little achievement brings a person closer to their end goal. As the brand is founded on the idea that every bit makes a big impact, Fitbit’s achievement badges aim to reinforce this as it recognizes user’s daily successes, such as getting enough sleep or reaching their step goal.
Team up
Having support is key to motivating an individual in their health and fitness journeys, as evidenced by the growth of group-based fitness formats such as cross-fit and functional training. Nowadays, fitness communities come in many different forms—some easily accessible and at anyone’s fingertips.
Through its in-app community feature, Fitbit has brought together millions of users globally to create one of the world’s largest fitness communities engaged in everything from nutrition to fitness to sleep. Another way to motivate an individual is through a little friendly competition. Members could challenge fellow members through Fitbit’s in-app fitness challenges.
“At the end of the day, it should all be about the process and not just focused on the end goal. When you fixate on your desired result, such as weight loss, this tends to mean you’re more likely to give up. If you want to succeed in achieving a goal or resolution, you need to focus on the steps you’re going to take to get there.”