Allow Yourself To Start Over Again, Because Y-Not?

As we enter the third month of the year, some individuals are ticking off the goals that they set out for themselves as planned and are on track to achieving their fitness goals. On the other hand, some have fallen off the wagon, and the excitement of the ‘New Year, New Me’ energy has faded as the reality of life and its challenges has set in. So, what do these individuals do, and what do they need to get back on track? My answer is that you need to first forgive yourself because when you break your promises to yourself, you tend to think you are incapable of achieving things you set out to do, which is not true. You need to permit yourself to start over as many times as you need to, and below are my tips for starting over again:

READ MORE: 4 Ways to Keep Your New Year’s Fitness Resolutions

• Acknowledge Your Shortcomings: This is the first step to moving forward and starting over again as you need to take ownership and responsibility for the fact that you did not start as you would have wanted and recognise why it happened. Once you have done this, take the learnings and use them to your advantage as you start over again.
• Recalibrate Your Goals: Because you are restarting your journey, it means you need to recalibrate your goals and more importantly your mindset towards achieving them. You are effectively starting from zero again but with a better understanding of what to do and what NOT to do this time around. So, for example, if you had set a 6-month goal from January until June, you would now need to adjust that goal from March until August. Quite often there’s this pressure to make up for the lost months, and extreme measures are then implemented which are unsustainable and will do more harm than good. Remember, timelines are merely checkpoints and are a useful tool to use for accountability. This is a life-long journey, so just recalibrate and start over again.
• Remember Your Why:  This is your journey, and you have your reasons as to why you decided to embark on it. You need to remember those reasons every single day and the feeling that you get when those reasons come to mind. The journey is never linear, and there will be several obstacles you have to overcome, often, it is your ‘why’ that will get you through those difficult days, months, and years.

READ MORE: 11 Mental Habits That Will (Actually) Help You Stick to Your Workout Routine in the New Year

Every day is another chance to start over, and your journey is over once you decide that it is. You must allow yourself to start over as many times as you need to and understand that the most important thing is that you do not stop trying.

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