Author: Charlie
Estimated Time To Read: 5 minutes / 1 small coffee
Hands up if you start every year full of enthusiasm and a list of goals and New Years resolutions as long as your arm?
Okay, now keep your hand raised if that enthusiasm last past the end of February and you actually achieve all of those lofty New Year goals?
Here's the kicker: You don't struggle to stick to your New Year goals because you're a flake or lack discipline.
Nope. You’ve been lured into a classic goal-setting trap. And today, my friend, we’re going to spring you free.
We originally spilled the beans about this common mistake in an email to our subscribers, and that email got a great response.
As the New Year is peak goal-setting season, we thought it was high time to spread the message far and wide by sharing that email in a blog post.
So, are you ready to stop feeling like the last sandwich in the reduced section by February, ditch the overwhelm and start achieving what you set out to do?
Read on and we’ll not only reveal where so many of us go wrong with goal-setting and New Year’s resolutions, we’ll also offer an alternative approach that could change the game for you.
A Common (but flawed) Approach To Goal-Setting, New Year’s Resolutions and Making Lifestyle Changes
Bear with me a moment, but in order to make my point, I’m going to talk about housework.
Have you ever walked into the aftermath of a tornado?
Okay, not literally… But a room that looks like Hurricane Gerald just took a detour from the Florida coast to make a point of decimating your once-put-together home.
You know what I’m talking about… Laundry piled up to your knees, toys strewn around like confetti, bins overflowing like volcanoes – only instead of lava it’s crisp packets, junk mail, and your previous half-hearted attempts at compacting the recycling.
In other words: Chaos!
So, where would you start to clean up?
I’m gonna take a guess and say you’d attack the big bits of mess first, right?
Empty the bins, load up the washer, and pick up the kids’ toys so you aren’t tripping over them.
I’ll tell you where you wouldn’t start: Dusting the skirting boards.
Trouble is, that’s exactly how many people approach setting process goals for lifestyle changes … By dusting the skirting boards.
Dusting the skirting boards is fretting over the room cleaning minutiae…
Here’s what lifestyle change minutiae might look like:
- Pouring all your focus into drinking more water (and as a consequence running to the loo a lot)
- Eating brown rice instead of white (because someone said so once)
- Taking a supplement (or 25)
- Eating 30 different vegetables a week (not 29 or 31…because reasons)
So much time and effort gets put into things that have little (or worse, ZERO) noticeable impact.
We’re not blaming you, by the way.
The #wellness industry is a noisy place full of SO MUCH advice, which is all conflicting, whilst simultaneously claiming to be of utmost importance…
Until the next thing comes along (usually accompanied by someone whose name rhymes with Shmichael Shmosely).
Plus, the lifestyle equivalent of “let’s pick up the big stuff first” doesn’t sell books so well. However, that IS the most effective place to start…
You go for the big stuff.
The overflowing bins.
The mountainous laundry pile.
The toy-covered floor…
GET THE BIGGEST RESULT FOR THE LEAST EFFORT: The "Big Bits First" Approach to Diet and Lifestyle Change
In diet terms, “picking up the big bits first” translates to identifying what will have the biggest impact on your results and move you closer to your New year goals, for the least effort.
If you have a weight management goal, that’ll be the most accessible way of reducing your calorie intake you can find.
One way you could do this is to identify the greatest source of calories throughout your week.
For example, if you’re drinking half a bottle of wine every night, could you try reducing how many glasses you’re drinking per night? Or increasing your number of alcohol free days during the week?
Or maybe you’ve identified that your Friday night takeaway is one of your biggest sources of calories. So rather than having your usual order of a full pizza to yourself, you might opt to have a smaller portion (say, half a pizza and a more filling side).
Or you might even want to swap the takeaway pizza for a cook-at-home version, which has less calories (and is cheaper!).
Identify Your Unique "Big Bits" and Achieve Impactful Results
Now it’s important to note…
Your “big bits” won’t be the same as the next person’s, so working out what yours are may take a bit of investigation.
However, unlike the “dusting” approach to lifestyle change, you won’t need to tackle lots of “big bits” that you keep finding more of the more you look!
After all, the idea is to create the biggest impact for the least effort.
This is why we help our clients to select 1-3 things to focus on based on their unique situation.
SO HERE'S A QUESTION TO PONDER...
What do you think your 1-3 “big bits” would be for the month ahead?
Take some time to mull this question over, and if you’re open to sharing, we’d love to know what you come up with!
(We’re big on privacy at Body Matters, so don’t worry, whatever you tell us goes no further.)
Oh – and if you need any help identifying your “big bits” or figuring out how to tackle them, don’t hesitate to reach out.
We’re dedicated to ensuring that everyone has the tools and support they need to live their happiest, healthiest and longest life, so if you ever have questions or need a bit of help we’re just an email away—feel free to get in touch anytime!
There's More Where This Came From
This article was originally an email, sent out to subscribers of our weekly newsletter.
So if you enjoyed it, did you know you could sink your teeth into content like this every week? AND you can have your say in what we write about!
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