Be Kind… And not just to others

We’ve all seen the hashtag ‘bekind’ and it’s nearly always used to describe how you should act towards other people. But when was the last time you used it for yourself?

With the majority of us setting new years resolutions and writing down our goals for 2022, take a minute and think about what you’re asking of yourself. There’s nothing wrong with aiming big but when it puts you at risk of damaging your health, mentally or physically, is it really worth it?

If you’re one month in and you’ve already broken your new years resolutions, don’t worry. Give yourself a break. You’re not a failure; you’re human. Just start again. You don’t need a first of the year or a Monday to restart.

But before you do, reassess what you’re asking of yourself. Have you tried to give up all your bad habits at once? Are you trying to get fit by going to the gym five days a week when you’re not even used to going one day a week? You’re not setting goals, you’re setting yourself up for failure.  Like the saying goes, ‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results’.

For example, if getting fit is one of your goals, but you’re struggling with getting to the gym five days a week, try a different method. They say go hard or go home but in reality that’s not realistic. All that will happen is you make yourself so tired that after the first two weeks, you’re exhausted and end up having to take time off. Start by going for a walk or doing home workouts a few days a week. Or you could try doing two gym workouts and two home workouts a week. Once that becomes a habit, replace one of those home workouts with a gym workout. 

If you’re trying to give up bad habits, do it one at a time. If you’ve got 6 things that you’re trying to change, dedicate each thing to each month. I.e. January – Give up smoking, February – Reduce caffeine intake, March – Increase fitness etc.  

Time frames are key to hitting goals but knowing a realistic time frame comes from experience and learning from past mistakes. If you’re not sure and don’t know where to start, ask a professional. Speak to a PT at the gym, give your local ‘Stop Smoking’. There’s a reason they know what they’re are doing. They have experience and usually from years of being in the industry  that they’re in.

Keep a journal of what you’re trying to achieve and set checkpoints. They don’t need to be a time for when you need to hit a goal, just a time of when to evaluate how you’re doing. It could be every week or every month but keep a note of what you’ve been doing and then when it comes to your checkpoint, look at what’s been working and what isn’t. Get rid of what’s not working maybe try something new. 

It’s a process not a race. They say it takes between 21 to 28 days to create a new habit so don’t think that it’s going to be ‘fixed’ overnight. So remember, be realistic, be patient and be kind.