Making ‘New Year’s Resolution’ work for you AND your family in 2022

 Can you believe we’re in 2022? Neither can we!

This time of year can so easily blur into one, before we know it we’ve entered a brand new year wondering where the last 12 months went, whilst setting New Year Resolutions we know deep down we might not keep (every. single. year… you’d think we’d learn!). Time to get fit? Yep. More sleep? Definitely. Drink more water? On it. Learn a language or write a book? Easy…

They all feel so motivating, until the motivation wears off! Fast forward a few weeks and we’re back to our old ways, vowing to start again on Monday or get back to it after half term (haha yep, been there done that). And so it continues, all the way until next New Year when we start the whole cycle again. If you’re a creature of habit and quite like this cycle then you won’t need these tips, but if you fancy breaking free and making intentions which you ‘might’ (we promise nothing!) stick with this time then step- or scroll- right this way. 

Let’s make your intentions work for you, whilst fitting in with being a Mum/ partner/ friend/ colleague/ and everything else too… 

 Start with WHY 

Why does the intention you’re setting matter? Is it something you desperately want to achieve OR is it something you’re setting because you ‘should’?

Change the should to a want and you have your answer! If ‘I want’ feels more ‘no way’ then you know it’s something you’re not too bothered about. A good saying to remember for this is ‘If it matters you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse!’. If it DOES matter and you feel  ready to do what it takes to make it happen, then it’s time to start making plans. Leading nicely… 

 Plan plan plan 

You now know whether the resolution or intention is something you want to set, but that doesn’t mean you should dive right in without a battle plan! Another saying springs to mind here too- ‘Fail to plan= plan to fail’. 

So… time to get prepared instead! Let’s use the most popular ‘resolution’… getting fit (see also ‘losing weight’ ‘getting healthy’ and ‘getting my backside into gear’ too!). Joining the nearest gym might work for you, but a bit of research plus thinking it all through will give you a much better chance of sticking with it.

Will it get too busy at the times you’ll go? Is the class timetable any good? Are the changing rooms roomy enough? Do you even LIKE going to the gym?? Anything other than a yes to these kind of questions and you can see how it might go. Apply this to any intention to make it work for you. 

Be realistic 

Reality check – does this new shiny intention fit in with your life? 5am starts might work for others, yet if early mornings aren’t for you then yet again you’re unlikely to stick with them. Same goes for food, movement, kids routines, hobbies, academic goals etc… Choosing things that fit in with your preferences, your home life and your commitments from the word go to make them doable. Although, get your ‘why’ right – reminding yourself of it every time you want to quit – and you might not mind working around your intention where you can. Setting goals which are unrealistic will only ever lead to one thing too… feeling as though you failed if you can’t keep it going. You can only ever fail when you stop trying anyway, so keep going! 

Mind your language 

No we don’t mean finding genius alternatives to the words you really want to use when your kids are driving you bonkers… We mean the words you use when it comes to making changes.

A classic example being to go with ‘making lifestyle changes’ rather than using words and sentences which feel far too big and unachievable before you even start (e.g losing weight, not the most motivating goal!). You could change ‘New Resolutions’ to ‘Intentions’ too which we’ve done for this blog. Setting intentions has a much better ring to it don’t you think? 

Be kind to yourself 

You maaay have to give yourself a good talking to on some days, you know the ones… when you simply cannot be bothered and don’t have a single genuine reason why you shouldn’t do whatever it is you set out to do. But what about the days when you’re not feeling 100%, or you didn’t get a great night’s sleep (Mum life!) or when life really does get in the way? You could choose to stick to your plans and most likely resent them- or you could show yourself a little self-compassion and re-arrange. Skipping something once, or for one week (or even longer if needed) then getting back to it is a much better tactic than resenting your goal or new routine then potentially ending up back at square one. Your goal/ aim/ intention may take a little longer to reach if there IS an end goal in sight, but at least you’ll get there! And if the intention is simply to keep something going, then having a rest and coming back to it works too. 

Ok… NOW you’re ready for this year! Armed with a plan of action to help you achieve all that you want to, with a few expected wobbles along the way. 

We’d love to know which intentions you set, do come and find us on social media or send us an email to let us know. We hope we’ve inspired you to make your intentions or resolutions work for you for 2022! 

Good luck!