Chic in China

It is no fun to start off your new life with a miles long list of things you “should” do. So put that list in the paper shredder and make a new list of things you WANT to accomplish in 2015. Think of things that you haven’t done but you feel very passionate about. Maybe it is trying a new hobby, traveling somewhere, changing career or losing weight. Things we genuinely feel like doing is much easier to stick to than things we force ourselves to do. Saying that “this year I WANT to lose some weight/get into better shape” is a bigger motivation than saying “this year I SHOULD lose some weight/get into better shape”. The way we think of things makes a huge difference, if we approach a task as something we want to do rather than have to do we are more likely to get it done.    

2.       What is your motivation – find your motivation.

So when you have decided on something you really want to do, ask yourself this question: “Why do you want to do it?” Let’s say you want to lose weight, what is your reason for doing so? Is it out of vanity, fitting into your clothes better, sticking it to your ex, health reasons or just beach 2015? No reason is stupid; anything that motivates you is good, whether it is “revenge” or just wearing a smaller size. If you have a motivation for doing something it is easier to stick to it and push through when things get tough. If you don’t have a clear motivation when starting out, try to find one, there is nothing that says it has to be your motivation through the whole process, things always change, after a while your motivation for getting into shape might just be that it makes you feel good.

3.       Make long-term and short-term goals.

Always when trying to accomplish something over a longer period of time it is best to have both long-term and short-term goals. The long-term goal is of course losing that weight/getting into shape, but with any kind of journey, if you don't have a few stops on the way (i.e. short-term goals) you will grow tired and probably give up before you reach your destination. So if the long-term goal is for instance reaching a certain weight, short-term goals can be something in the lines of deciding on working out 3 times a week (and keeping it), being able to run faster or longer, do 10 push-ups or try a new kind of workout. Make steady, and most importantly: REACHABLE short-term goals. Do not make crazy difficult goals that are hard to reach, it will make you lose your motivation and make your long-term goals seem even harder to reach. Short-term goals are always manageable, for instance you might have a very busy week and can’t make it to the gym during the weekdays; make the goal to squeeze in a quick 15-30min workout at home or to hit the gym extra hard during the weekend. Short-term goals should not be too difficult to accomplish, but they should help you eventually reach your long-term goal.

4.       Celebrate accomplishments.

I’m not saying that just because you managed to go to the gym 3 times this week you should pop open a bottle of champagne and drink the night away, that is slightly overkill. But be proud of what you have accomplished, give yourself a mental pat on the back and feel good about sticking to your plan. Of course you can give yourself a treat for being a good sport, maybe buying yourself a new shirt as the old ones are getting to big since you have dropped a few grams. But, like I said, don't overdo it. If you celebrate every small accomplishment like it is somebody’s birthday the bigger milestones will not seem as big or important. A mental pat on the back and a glass of wine with the girls on a Friday night will suffice.  

5.       Do not beat yourself up to much over setbacks.

We are only human, so we are bound to make mistakes, but what is important is how you handle those slip-ups. First of all, don’t beat yourself up too much. Maybe you promised that you weren’t going to eat sweets during the week, but on Wednesday after 3pm you just had to have that Snickers, otherwise you would perish. It’s ok. One Snickers won’t destroy all the other days of being healthy and working out, sometimes the body wants what the body wants. Be ok with screwing up sometimes, but also try to be quick with getting back on to the right path.

6.       Take a breather and think of what you have done so far.

Sometimes we are so caught up in our life that we never get the chance to take a step back and appreciate how far we come. Instead of always looking ahead and feeling like you still are miles away from your end goal, take a step back and see how much you actually have accomplished. If we don’t take the time to appreciate the hard work, long night, many tears and frustration we put in to get us to where we are, how will we ever feel a sense of accomplishment? Even though you still have a long way to go, it is important to take the time to let yourself see how far you actually come.

7.       Get rid of negative forces around you.

Unfortunately when it comes to big goals or life changes there will always be voices around us telling us that it is “too hard” or “you can’t do it”. Tune all those voices out, or if needed, cut them out of your life completely. When going gets tough and we might start to doubt ourselves we need people around us who support and believe in us. Keep the positive energy in your life and leave all the negative people and unsupportive friends behind.

8.       Remind yourself why you started.

If you reach a point where you feel like it is impossible, that you will never reach your goals, remind yourself why you started. Maybe you will realize that your reason for what you are doing has changed, so you need to get some new motivation to fit that. Or thinking back on why you started will give you new energy to keep pushing forward. When you started you probably never thought you would make it this far, so why quit now? Keep going.