Research shows that more than half of all resolutions fail, so this year we have teamed up with fellow B Corp ‘Ancient & Brave’ to discover how to make your New Year's health resolutions last.
Ancient + Brave offer a range of award-winning blends and supplements that are sustainably sourced, easy to use and offer targeted nutrition. Read on for expert tips to stay the course from Ancient and Brave’s in-house Nutritionist, Jo Woodhurst.
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How to Make Your New Year's Health Resolutions Last
Come the first of January, we are bombarded with the latest diet trends, cleanses, detoxes and gym membership discounts. Whilst there isn’t anything inherently wrong with wanting to feel our best after a period of indulgence, we often use this motivation to set ourselves over- ambitious goals for our health and wellness. From promising yourself you’ll hit the gym a minimum of five times a week or completely cutting out food groups, with extreme health goals it's common to find that come February, they have fallen by the wayside and old habits have crept back in.
So how do we avoid just becoming another disappointing statistic?
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Find the right resolution for you
Setting extreme goals that are far too unrealistic to sustain can be a common pitfall to resolution breaking. Some people also set resolutions based on what other people think or what societal pressures are telling them to change. Other’s struggle because their goals are too wishy-washy and vague. You are much more likely to give yourself the best shot at success if you set a do-able yet also meaningful goal with a plan in place on how to achieve it.
There’s nothing wrong with having some fixed goals as short term motivators. These are called extrinsic goals - often with a number attached such as; lose X amount of weight, run X time in a marathon, have X amount of drink-free days. These are traditional ‘resolutions’ – often focusing on what is wrong with us, what we want to fix and are based on a fixed outcome.
However, if we fail at these, we are faced with feelings of criticism, guilt and sometimes sabotage. On the other hand, if you reach these goals then the joys can be fleeting. There becomes a pressure to step it up, what’s the next level? What’s the next number to reach?
Using these goals in the context of the bigger picture can be a helpful stepping stone, but they shouldn’t be the main focus.
Meaningful Goals
Goals with true meaning behind them can set the ‘maintainers’ apart from the ‘start again on
Monday-ers’. Looking for a lifestyle choice rather than a purely fixed goal can be helpful. This means you aren’t completely fixed to a diet or fitness plan with no flexibility for life to happen. There’s no finish line to cross but instead a lifestyle to live. It’s not just a ‘diet’ or a fitness programme, but your new way of living.
These intrinsic goals are more based on personal significance. Your unique ‘why’. Intrinsic in Latin actually means ‘Goods for the Soul”. It nourishes you from within. It’s based on a mindset of something you want to build and create until it becomes part of who you are. With these goals, we are often less critical of ourselves if we stumble – and are able to get back on track when we do.
To find these goals, ask yourself – why. Why do you want to get fit? Why do you want to cut out the junk food? Why do you want to quit smoking? You may have to ask yourself ‘why’ a few times in a row to really get to the very root of the reason, but therein lies your valued goal – base it on a place of love for yourself and the life you live and you can’t go far wrong.
To explore Ancient + Brave’s range of nutritional formulas for optimal daily wellbeing, head to
