Spring Resolutions – How to Make & Reach Them

Resolutions aren’t just for the New Year, says Dr. Jenni Bruning Brown, sport psychologist and founder of Fly | A Fitness Revolution. Setting goals is easy, it’s the sticking to them part that’s hard, she says.  Here’s a few tricks she says can help you achieve some of those goals you’ve been wanting to reach since the year started.

1. Start small. While it’s great to dream big, we sometimes set ourselves up for failure because we don’t know what success looks like. Jenni suggests that instead of having a huge, overarching goals such as “I’m going to run a marathon, “eat no dessert” or “work less,” break it down into smaller pieces or steps. So if your goal is to work less, make it your goal to put your computer down each weeknight at 10PM or avoiding work on Sundays. Start small, and slowly add as you begin to see progress.
2. Make it measurable. Jenni says the main problem most people have in following through with goals is that they don’t know how to measure their success. When they’ve hit their goal, they aren’t really sure. This is why she says that Fly class challenges are so successful, because they are easily measured and easily tracked. But in the world of wanting to be more balanced, or more present, how to you track that? Jenni says that while it isn’t sexy to diagram or plot out your goal, it’s necessary for success. So, for example, if you want to be more present with your significant other, you might say that on a daily basis, you’ll spend 15 minutes with my significant other while your phone is off (and no other distractions). Plan it out, and know what success looks like. Set weekly or bi-weekly goals.
3. Retrain your brain. Remember that doing something different than what you’re used to will be hard, and you’ll likely want to revert back to the status quo.  Getting comfortable with discomfort is hard. Give yourself some slack, and if you don’t stick with it every time, just come back to your focus and your goal as soon as you realize you didn’t do what you’d hoped to.

When Jenni works with athletes, she encourages them to be prepared for anything and puts them in the most challenging situations. “You’ve got to test yourself to change yourself. Failure will occur, but that’s how you succeed,” she says. But Jenni also encourages you to realize that the feelings of discomfort are transitory and says that “the biggest changes happen when people allow uncomfortable feelings to be present and to work through them.” Know that you’ll have growing pains, but you’ll feel stronger and more confident over time if you keep working at it.

4. Circle of support. Find a community of people–friends, family and others who support your goals. Jenni says that this will motivate you and encourage you to improve, and can help to keep you on track. You can also use social media and post your progress to get reinforcement.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be January to kick start your goals. Use our Fly community to stay motivated and sign up for your spot in class now.