Should we set New Year’s fitness resolutions? With the good intentions that support them and the successful outcomes they often produce, the answer to this question would, to the casual observer, be a resounding yes. However, not to dissuade those for whom an annual commitment to improve is imperative to the success they have so far achieved, such ‘resolutions’ may also promote the repeated failure to attain one’s goals. Why might this be the case? Whenever we set long-range pre-determined timelines for goal achievement – good for some, but not so effective for others, as we will soon see – we may place restrictions on the consistency of improvement we hope to experience and our ability to reorganize and rally our resources to overcome any momentary setbacks, both of which are important for securing our objectives over the long term. If, for example, this year we have as one of our New Year’s resolutions the building of ten pounds of lean muscle mass and we fail to achieve this by a pre-determined timeframe in 2012, might we, in subscribing to the all-important New Year’s resolution process, simply, in re-scheduling it as one of our resolutions for 2013, put the attainment of this goal off until the following year? Actually this is exactly what many well-meaning goal-setters would do.

Though not to discourage people from setting their goals on a yearly basis, my main message here is to set, and measure the attainment of your goals each and every day. There need not be a special day each year where we plan our goals before spending the rest of the year working to achieve them which can, in itself, often, as mentioned, result in a failure to reach our targets; instead, resolve to be successful at all times so, not rigidly constrained to one tightly-defined period in which to attain your goals, should you experience a setback, you can continue working even harder to overcome that which prevented you from realizing your ambitions. We all experience setbacks, but with greater flexibility in the attainment of our goals we are less likely to view ourselves as failures should we not meet these goals by a specifically defined date. This aside, if we set out goals from week to week or day to day, rather than each New Year’s Eve for the year ahead, we can more accurately monitor how close we are to their achievement so as to not lose sight of the big picture which each goal represents. 

By having one day each year where we plan a course of action to ensure we are better than we were the year before, we may run the risk of becoming disillusioned, lethargic and, ultimately, unwilling to continue working to reach our full potential. After all, should our goals not manifest we can, after becoming angry at ourselves for failing to reach our targets, always leave them until next year, right? I have on many occasions seen the full manifestation of such faulty thinking. Come New Year’s Eve, one is ever eager to quit smoking (as one example), yet by March they are again slowly killing themselves (and those around them should they choose to poison others with their destructive habit). They will then spend the remainder of the year resolving to quit their habit the following year.

By forgoing New Year’s resolutions in favor of daily resolutions we are less likely to put off that which can be accomplished today while being accountable to one day at a time, rather than an entire year. Assigning one whole year to the accomplishment of a goal (or several) can, for many, be too big of a timeframe or investment of physical and emotional energy. Further, with all the ceremony, do-or-die definitiveness of purpose and grand proclamations of eventual success that underpin the New Year’s resolutions we set for ourselves, it is, for some, often easier to endure the problem they wish to address than live with the pressure associated with addressing it. My advice: avoid such resolutions by resolving to quietly set shorter-term goals, methodically work to achieve them and measure your success daily. 

About the author:
David Robson is a New Zealand-based professional freelance writer, book author, personal trainer and health and fitness expert. With his sound scientific and academic credentials he has helped thousands of people achieve their health and fitness goals both through his written works and guidance. As a staff writer, David’s articles can be read in leading health and fitness periodical Status Fitness Magazine. David can be contacted at: davidrobson19@hotmail.co.nz or at his website: davidrobsonelite.com