03 Feb New Year, New Me… Kind of

Picture this… it’s January 1, 2025 and your friend decides this is her year. She decides to completely change her life, and her new mantra is “New Year, New Me.” She sets 10 resolutions that are going to change all of her “bad habits” and make her into the happiest, healthiest version of herself ever. Sounds amazing, right!

Except… Now, it’s February 1, 2025 and life got busy, and she was only able to successfully complete 2 of her 10 resolutions. She is feeling defeated already, 1 month into the year. Now, that same friend decides that 2025 may not be the year that changes her whole life after all.

…Does this sound familiar to anyone? 

It is so easy to see the new year as a completely fresh start and want to use it to change up your whole lifestyle. However, there is one small issue with this line of thinking…it’s not always sustainable. Now that also doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t set goals for ourselves. In fact, the new year is a great time to re-center your mindset and evaluate things in your life that are serving you, and maybe some of the things that aren’t. So how do we create that meaningful change without biting off more than we can chew? 

Let’s focus on “the Big 3”– just 3 things you want to implement into your life this year. These things can be anything that improves your mind, body, or overall happiness. Whether that be you want to incorporate more time for recovery into your weekly routine, or that you want to get more sleep each night {you can find more on that here https://evolvetoperform.com/2018-1-14-the-magic-pill-part-1-optimize-sleep/}, or even that you want to learn a new skill or hobby. Everyone has their own personal goals for this new year… so how do we work on reaching those goals effectively and systematically?

First, you want to get out your pen and paper and write these goals down. Now, the key to transforming these goals from words on paper, to reality is a plan. And how do you do that…? By being SMART! 

When creating goals, it’s best to be “SMART.” Now what does SMART stand for…?

S…Specific

Your goal should be specific and clear, so that you know exactly what you are implementing in your life…too vague and it won’t stick. 

M…Measurable

Can you track your progress? How will you know when your goal is achieved? Habit trackers can be great for tracking and measuring progress toward achieving your goals—mark off on your tracker every time you complete your task for the day, week, etc. Measuring your progress along the way is a great way to maintain accountability. 

A…Achievable

Is your goal realistic for you right now? Does this goal make sense for your lifestyle, or does it require you to change up your entire routine? 

R…Relevant

Is your goal worth-while for you? How important is it to you?

T…Time-bound

Goals need a timeline. Make sure you assign a start and end date to your goal in order to measure your progress accordingly.

Now that we know how to create solid goals let’s go back to our “Big 3.” Goal setting is so personal and everyone has different things they want to achieve and accomplish this year. You are in the driver’s seat of your own life, so you don’t have to feel stuck in old habits or keep repeating cycles that no longer serve you.

Here are some examples of goals you may have thought of for the year 2025 and how we can help you along the way here at Evolve to Perform…

• Do you find yourself sitting a lot of the day? Maybe a good goal for you would be to implement “movement snacks” into your day to get out of that chair and move your body more. Maybe you set an alarm that goes off every hour for you to get up and move for 5 minutes? Maybe try out the Couch Stretch if you find yourself sitting for long periods of time during the day. 

• Make 2025 the year you get rid of that nagging pain you’ve been dealing with for months or even years! Book an appointment with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy to decrease your pain, and get at the root cause of the problem in order to improve your overall health and wellness, not just for 2025, but for years to come.
• Want to create a more active lifestyle but have no prior fitness background and not sure where to start?…Come in to see one of our personal trainers for a 1-on-1 session to help design a program that is right for you
• Maybe you’ve been crushing your fitness goals lately…Dedicate at least 1 day/week to active recovery to prevent injury {You can read all about active recovery in our blog post here:

(Active) Rest For The Wicked – Still Crushing it While Recovering 

The new year brings so much inspiration and hope with its “fresh start” mentality, which we all can embrace. It is a great time to take a step back and evaluate where you’re at physically, mentally, emotionally, etc. But, it’s important to keep in mind…Just because it’s a new year, doesn’t mean you have to change your whole life.

Goal setting is great, but make sure these goals fit into your lifestyle, and are feasible for you to keep up with. Setting new goals should be a fun activity, and a reminder that it is okay to strive for more, while still appreciating all that you’ve done to get yourself to where you are now.

So go out there and crush 2025 and Happy New Year from us here at Evolve to Perform!

Let us know what are your Big 3, and what can we do to help you reach those goals?

References:

Bird, M. D., Swann, C., Jackman, P. C. (2023, March 15). The what, why, and how of goal setting: A review of the goal-setting process in applied sport psychology practice. Taylor & Francis Online. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10413200.2023.2185699#abstract

THE M.A.G.I.C. PILL PART 1: OPTIMIZE SLEEP: https://evolvetoperform.com/2018-1-14-the-magic-pill-part-1-optimize-sleep/

(ACTIVE) REST FOR THE WICKED – STILL CRUSHING IT WHILE RECOVERING: https://evolvetoperform.com/active-rest-for-the-wicked-still-crushing-it-while-recovering/