After the holiday season ends, people often feel the urge to get back on track with multiple goals — especially regarding their health. The real key to success with new health goals is not about specific resolutions. More important are your mental attitude —  your willingness to welcome change and your desire to make it happen.

Simple tips that get results

If you’ve decided that now is the time to get back on track with an exercise routine, create health goals that are realistic physically, but also include a built-in level of compassion. That means making sure goals are a bit of a challenge, but not so hard or beyond your current capabilities that you torture yourself to reach them.

As you plan your goals, it’s also important to check in with how you feel about your current body image. Men and women choose to “up the game” with their health because of the emotional response they have to their bodies’ physical appearance. Disappointment in their physical appearance too often leads to making hasty, forced goals — based on negative thinking, rather than the inspiration for better overall health.

Be willing to accept yourself as you are as a statement of fact. Then develop goals and strategies which move you forward with an honest and realistic frame of mind.

Remember not to judge yourself, beat yourself up or proclaim yourself wrong. Take time and patience to build a new way of living day by day that is not only achievable but enjoyable! If you make things too hard, you’ll just give up or injure yourself before you really get started.

Where to start? Consider the cornerstones of successful health strategies:

• Is what you are doing measurable?
• Are the strategies and goals something you can act on immediately?
• Do your goals and strategies include things you can realistically accomplish (leaving specific time frames out of the equation)?
• Is it possible to scale things down or modify if challenges arise?
• Are you committed to making health changes part of your life routine?

Starting with these core areas, creating clear and simple goals which match your specific needs and are sustainable for the long term. Remember, pushing hard from Day 1 does not bring desired results faster and often can lead to injury.

Check out our next post on injury and pain management, and how to be mindful of your spine as part of your overall health plan.

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