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Going all in on New Year’s resolutions right from the start is a mistake according to one personal trainer, while a life coach says choosing them all together is a mistake.
It comes as Kiwis are hoping to improve their fitness and get on top of finances in the new year according to a survey of 1120 adults from the comparison site Finder.
It found 88 per cent had made a New Year’s resolution, 45 per cent of whom pledged to exercise more in 2023. Eating better (32 per cent) and getting more quality sleep (25 per cent) were front of mind, too.
Meanwhile, 76 per cent said they had set financial goals this year, with finding ways to increase earnings (36 per cent) and paying off debt (23 per cent) being the main priorities.
Finder personal finance specialist Taylor Blackburn said the “best bet” to achieve resolutions was to make realistic goals.
“Remember, change takes time and effort. Don’t be too harsh on yourself if you don’t achieve your goals overnight – or if they change over time.”
Rotorua life coach Annie Canning told the Rotorua Daily Post setting resolutions was a mistake, instead, people should set a vision for five years in the future and create a plan of how to get there.
“I wouldn’t waste your time with New Year’s resolutions - when you make up your mind to do something, get on with it.
“Once you’ve taken the time to set a vision, then you can break it down and decide what you’re going to do in the next 12 months to move you towards that five-year vision.
“What tends to happen with New Year’s resolutions is after the first six weeks you’ve fallen off the wagon with them and then you start experiencing self-doubt and feel like you’re a bit of a failure.”
Canning said a long-term vision would help people avoid running out of steam but importantly people needed to surround themselves with “accountability partners” to help them stick to new habits.
“You look at these weight-loss programmes, the success of the things like Weight Watchers is because they offer support. It’s really hard to do it without support.”
Rotorua life coach Annie Canning would avoid setting New Year's resolutions. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua personal trainer Kirsty Watt, of Bootiful Fitness NZ, also thought “knowing your why” was key to success and “going all in” right off the bat was a common mistake people made.
“We put so much emphasis on resolutions and stuff and we always say I’ll start on Monday – you can start any day of the week, it doesn’t matter.
“It doesn’t need to be a crazy or restrictive diet, or training for a marathon when you’ve never run a kilometre in your life, it’s about being consistent and doesn’t need to be every day.
“You might go all out at the start and if you miss a day, you might fall off the wagon and one day can turn into two or three.
“As long as you’re doing something more than what you were doing, it doesn’t matter. Something is better than nothing. Even if you can only fit 10 minutes in a day, that’s better than nothing.”
Rotorua-based personal trainer and women's fitness coach Kirsty Watt. Photo / Supplied
Tauranga personal trainer Louise Watson, also known as Bosslady, said there were “unfortunately” no shortcuts to achieving goals but the best way to achieve them was one step at a time.
“It’s like, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time,” she said.
“I think that a lot of people overwhelm themselves and try to do too much in one space. They’ll try to quit drinking and smoking, [eat better] and exercise all in one go.”
She encouraged people to implement small changes “for long-lasting results”. If there were slip-ups, the idea was people could “fall off the bandwagon but don’t let it run you over”.
Tauranga-based holistic health coach Steve Jennings encouraged people to set a goal for 12 months away, implement three habits to reach it and try to use them 80 per cent of the time.
“When they’re selecting their goals or habits for the year, there’s no point in trying to do this 100 per cent all-or-nothing theory because it doesn’t work.
“When you’ve got an 80 per cent target, psychologically that’s a little less stressful and provides breathing space as well so that if they slip up every now and then ... that’s a bit more achievable accepting they’ll have a slip up every now and then.
“They could be following a strategy and completing it 99 per cent of the time but because they’re not reaching the 100 per cent threshold, they beat themselves up for the 1 per cent they don’t achieve.”
Jennings thought making goals public by putting them on social media or by telling a few friends meant people were more likely to maintain them.
“I say your reputation is based on your word and if you’re not prepared to put it out there publically, you’ve always got a place to run away and hide.”
