January is that ultimate motivational month where you are invigorated by your “New Year, New Me ” commitments. You stick to your diet, you take runs in the park, you partake in Veganuary, you get enough sleep and get to work on time every morning. February comes around and the wheels start to fall off a bit. You start snoozing your alarm, and ordering a pizza when you can’t be bothered to make food. But this is not the point where you say, “Oh, well, I will try again next year!” This is when you follow these steps and get back on the wagon, even once the initial buzz starts dwindling.
Treat yourself
We know – this hardly seems like the kind of advice that keeps you from overeating at the Park Grand Restaurants, or keeps you from holding back from the scones at Indian Afternoon Tea. However, that is exactly the point: you don’t need to remove these kinds of indulgences from your life, you just need to create a balance. If you told yourself you can’t eat a single cake at tea, you aren’t going to consider your resolutions a life-long thing. If you treat yourself every now and again – with high-quality treats from The Park Grand Kensington – you are more likely to return to your resolutions afterwards. Everything in moderation is the key message here – tee-total is a recipe for failure. Just make sure you are wary of what you are doing and don’t make yourself feel like you are suffering.
Don’t be afraid to start off time
The biggest thing that makes people quit their New Year’s resolutions is the notion that once you have ruined something or broken one of them, you have to wait until the next year to do them again. This is, frankly, a silly preoccupation with the time-frame which places too much emphasis on the notion of resolutions than the actual thing you are committing to change. So, if you fall off the wagon, just get up and start again. But that leads onto the next thing…
Don’t wallow in guilt
Tied in with not fussing over the physical time constraints of a New Year’s resolution is the importance of not feeling guilty every time you make a mistake. Yes, a bit of self-reflection is healthy. However, beating yourself up about not achieving a goal which you yourself set (and therefore only you are holding you accountable for) is the surest way to ensure you wallow instead of starting again. Remember: New Year’s resolutions serve you, and feeling sorry for yourself is unproductive.
Be willing to restructure
Don’t be afraid to restructure your resolution if you realise it is unrealistic. This is not to say give up, or stop trying, but if you are so focused on all-or-nothing, rather than all-or-a-lesser-but-better-than-nothing alternative, then you are just hurting yourself. For instance, if you committed to going for a run three times a week, but factors out of your control (like the dwindling Winter light or a boss who insists you stay until at least dinner time) mean you are unable to do this, then readjust the goal. Perhaps you change it to walking to work, or taking a walk around the block during your lunch break. Conveniently for travellers staying in Accommodation Kensington London, you are right by Hyde Park – perfect for a lunch-time stroll.
Reconsider how you go about New Year’s resolutions
This is a theme that has run throughout these recommendations: setting rigid resolutions is unrealistic. “I want to run 5km three times a week” is all well and good to decide in December when you are tucking into your Christmas dinner, but at the end of the day you have no idea where you will be or what you will be doing in 6 months time. You need to set your goals more generally. This is not to say that they should be “easy”, per se, but rather that you should avoid being too specific. “Get fit” is far more achievable than “Run X number of times a week” – and both will probably achieve the same goal.
Join a group
Does the following sound familiar? You started running, or quit smoking, or ate less red meat, and it was easy at the start because it was new, exciting and motivating. Now you’re on your own and nobody is holding you accountable, so technically nobody would even know if you didn’t stick to your resolutions. If this is the case for you, it may be the case that you are best motivated by affirmation. This isn’t inherently negative, and if you feel this may be the case, don’t hesitate to join a group doing the same thing. Whether a coffee club for ex-smokers or a running club for wanna-be gym bunnies, it can be really helpful to have some support on your commitments to change. Don’t be shy, be supportive and be supported instead.
Sticking to your New Year’s resolutions is easy in the beginning, because everyone is doing it. Then you hit February, March, April… and slowly you lose your comrades along the way and staying on track becomes a personal rather than a social commitment. Suddenly, the invite to dinner at Park Grand Restaurant London makes you feel like you may not be allowed dessert, which makes you angry, which makes you decide to scrap the sugar limitation resolution altogether. This isn’t a necessary response – you can have your cake, eat it, then continue with your restrictions. Nobody is giving you a grade or a pay-rise based on your commitment to your New Year’s resolution – you are doing it to improve yourself. So make sure you keep this in mind, build a life of balance, and remember that the structure of a New Year’s resolution is only there to help you rather than to limit you or stress you out. Additionally, maybe next year focus on setting resolutions that are achievable and motivating, rather than those which make you feel like a failure or an unhelpful guilt
