How to: Turn a resolution into a habit.

With the new year comes the typical resolutions. You know, the “new year new you” kind of stuff. The time of soaring gym memberships and broken weight loss promises. Unfortunately we all know that a lot of these won’t come to fruition, but when it comes to your health surely you owe it to yourself to see this one through!

“We are what we repeatedly do.

Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle

The jury is out when it comes to a conclusive answer on how long it takes to establish a habit. A lot of sources have plucked a magical number of 21 days but habits are not the kind of thing that have a one size fits all approach. We believe the key is consistency. Below are 7 tips on effective goal setting.

1. Set Goals with intention

In order to be able to turn a goal into a daily habit you must first have a strong desire to achieve it. It is not as simple as just ‘thinking’ your way into a new habit, you must take action.

2. Write down your goals

This is an important one! Experts have extensive research demonstrating the effectiveness of writing down goals and the correlation of them being achieved. It is also a great way to keep them top of mind by having them on hand and reading them regularly.

3. Make sure they are specific goals

Rather than simply identifying what you want, ie. ‘I want to lose weight’, try to quantify your goal. How much weight do you want to lose? What is your time frame for the desired weight loss? I.e “I want to lose 6kg in 6 months”. Also map out how you plan to achieve the goal.

4. Measurable

Keeping a journal or chart to track your progress is a great way to stay focused and motivated whilst seeing any potential behaviors or patterns that may be holding you back from reaching your goals. There is also a plethora of apps out there which will help you keep track of your progress whilst motivating and reminding you.

5. Give yourself a deadline

This holds you accountable. Keep your time frame realistic and break your goals down into smaller intermediate goals. The aim is to turn whatever positive change you are desiring into a lifestyle.

6. Evaluate Daily

Assess how your progress is tracking on a daily basis. Be sure to reward good results but also be conscious that you will have days where you regress. This is all part of the process, so learn to be okay with days where the results don’t go your way. Stay positive, tomorrow is a new day.

7. Reward yourself

Small wins are important because they build motivation. This doesn’t mean go crazy and have a massive blowout. Just show yourself some self love by doing/having something that gives you joy or happiness and treat it as a way of motivating you to keep going.

Begin mornings and end days internally. Checking in with yourself. This can be done through the form of Meditation and or deep breathing. First thing before you grab for your phone to check your social media/emails, try going internally whilst using metered breathing techniques.

Practice gratefulness. What are you grateful for each day? Try and list at least 3 each day.

For those with goals to improve their health, fitness and nutrition, pairing your goals with the PranaOn Range will get you through any plateau’s you may experience whilst also aiding with recovery time.

Follow these tips and you will be on track to a better version of yourself in no time! Be sure to tag us to show us your results/acheivements. @pranaon #pranaontribe #poweredbyplants