Let’s think back to this past December. Whether you rang in the New Year by popping champagne bottles at the club or cooking an elegant meal for an intimate dinner party, the same, universal New Years’ topic was likely discussed—resolutions.

Everyone’s resolutions are entirely different, as they depend on you and your personal goals. For some, 2019 was going to be a year of learning something new, like a foreign language, musical instrument, or useful skill. For others, a new year is an opportunity to drop a “bad habit,” like nail biting, smoking, or swearing. Meanwhile, others spend their New Years Eves making nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle changes to make the coming year the healthiest yet. Did you make any resolutions? If yes, what were they?

Now, let’s fast forward back to today. The sun is shining, the flowers are in full bloom, and those winter nights of late 2018 feel like another lifetime. However, it’s 2019—how are those resolutions going?

If your honest answer is “not so well,” you’re certainly not alone. Resolutions may sound simple to accomplish amidst the giddy excitement of a midnight countdown and rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne, but in application they take a lot of work. After all, we don’t live in a perfect world—things happen, and executing New Year’s resolutions don’t always take priority.

Even if you’ve made it halfway through the year without working on your resolutions, there’s no reason to leave them behind. It’s not too late to get back on track and stick to those promises you made to yourself back in December.

Take Small Steps Daily

Any goal can feel overwhelming if you’re looking at it as a whole. By breaking your resolution down into small, manageable steps, you’ll find it much easier to tackle.

What did you resolve to do this year?

To Learn a New Skill

Did you go into 2019 with grand dreams of mastering a skill? Whether you were hoping to speak French like a Parisian, drive a manual car, or do a perfect set of push-ups, it’s entirely possible to achieve in small steps daily—even if you haven’t done much about it yet. That’s fine—you can get started today!

For any new skill, the key to success is in repetition. This is something that can be—and should be—accomplished in manageable, small steps daily.

A few tips?

• Enjoy the Help of the Digital World

We’re nearing the end of an incredible decade. Over the past ten years, we’ve seen technology advance in leaps and bounds. These incredible advances are helpful in countless ways—seriously, can you even remember what it what like trying to navigate a city before having GPS on your phone?

For language learning, there are plenty of applications that allow users to practice small amounts of words and phrases on a daily basis, like Duolingo. For those looking to hone their fitness skills, there are high-quality programs that can be done online.

• Perfect Each Element of Your Skill

Let’s say your resolution was to be able to do a perfect rep of 50 push-ups. On day one of your resolution work, you might be tempted to test your endurance and try all 30 in one go. You might succeed, but that could actually hinder your progress.

Why’s that? If you start your work towards your perfect push-up set at full-blast, you might find yourself skipping a crucial step—honing your first push-up. This goes for any skill, but it’s especially important for fitness goals. Quality is so much more important than quantity here. Once you are confident about performing a push-up safely and correctly, then you can work towards doing large and impressive sets.

• Stick to a Daily Schedule

Routine is so important. Once you get into the habit of practicing anything on a daily basis, whether it’s driving a car, working out, or playing the guitar, it will become a part of your routine, like brushing your teeth or making coffee. After a while, you won’t even need to think about it, you’ll just do it—and you’ll improve every single time.

To Get Into Better Shape and be Healthier

When you made your resolution, switching to a healthier and more active lifestyle seemed easy. Maybe you even wanted to hit a certain fitness or weight goal by summertime. You were going to start a new, healthy nutrition plan, find a good gym (and coach), and start crafting your dream body. However, it was a long winter. Now, you haven’t been staying on track at all— and you’re nowhere near your goal. Don’t you worry—it’s easy to get back into the right pace, but it helps with these handy tips:

• Start Small and Work Your Way Up

If you’re planning to start a new fitness regime, it’s okay to take it slow when you begin. Sure, plenty of people are able to dedicate hours to their workout—but they have likely been training for quite some time. It’s perfectly reasonable to start out by doing shorter periods of exercise on a daily basis. Soon enough, you’ll find longer stretches of workout time will come to you much more naturally.

• Don’t Let Small Slip-Ups Set you Back

If a stressful or busy event causes you to accidentally miss your daily workout, that’s okay. Many people take this as a “sign” that their new fitness routine is too difficult to maintain, or they use it as an excuse to also let their healthy eating habits fall to the wayside.

Alternately, eating something that you’ve been avoiding for health reasons, whether that’s sugar or processed food, is not a reason to throw your entire nutrition plan down the toilet. It’s not going to ruin all your progress if you slip up every now and again—but it will if you let that stop your routine.

• Get Inspired

Explore Instagram and other social media platforms for fitness and nutrition experts that inspire you. They often post about their daily routines and hacks that help them stay on track, even in little ways. It’s a great way to personalize your own routine—just pick and mix all your favorite tips!

Remind Yourself Why You Decided to Make this Resolution

Maybe you wanted to get in shape to walk down the aisle at your own wedding this summer. Perhaps you were hoping to learn guitar so you can finally put those lyrics you’ve been writing to music. Chances are, your goals for the year come from a deeper reason.

Whether your New Year’s resolution was to stop swearing (around your toddler, who is newly repeating and saying everything), find a job that you love (after quitting your previous, slightly soul-sucking one for moral reasons), or finally kicking your smoking habit (per the gentle request of a concerned partner), you chose to go for it because its results were important to you.

To help yourself stay inspired and motivated, it can help to make yourself a physical reminder of your goals. A few ways to do this?

• Make a Vision Board of Your Goals

If your resolution was to eat healthier and find a better fitness routine, what results did you have in mind? Many of us are hoping to look their best in their summer wardrobes and bathing suits. Some people like to visualize these goals by making physical “vision boards.” These could include photographs or some bathing suits and summer outfits you’d like to wear, and beaches you’d like to visit.

• Set a Goals Checklist

Why did you choose your goal? Instead of just thinking about the reasons, physically list out all of the things that you’ll be able to do once you complete your goal. Instead of just reading it, however, use it as a checklist. Every time you do one of these things for the first time (like have an entire conversation in French, drive on a highway by yourself, or run a mile without feeling stopping), you can check it off and feel proud of yourself.

• Collect Some Motivational Quotes

Chances are, somebody has embarked on a similar path to you and had common goals. Do a bit of research about some articles, books, interviews, or quotes from these people—you might find yourself especially inspired to continue on.

Find an Accountability Buddy

If there’s somebody else who knows about your intentions, you’re more likely to follow through with them. This is doubly true if you actually ask them to hold you accountable—and it’s even better if they are working on similar goals, so you can do the same for them.

A few ideas?

• Practice in Pairs

If your accountability buddy lives in the same city as you, it helps to work on your goals in tandem. For instance, if both you and your pal are hoping to treat your bodies better and enhance your fitness and self-confidence, it makes sense to hit the gym together. Some fitness centers even offer special team coaching sessions.

• Kick a Bad Habit with A “Strict” Friend

Have a no-nonsense friend who always tells it like it is? They’re the perfect person to go to if you want to help kick a habit. Have them take fifty cents from you every time you swear, bite your nails, or perform another habit you’re trying to kick. Just don’t avoid them in order to indulge the habit!

• Send Each Other Reminders

You don’t need to live in the same place as your friend to hold each other accountable. A daily text message asking for and sharing progress can be an incredible motivator.

Set Deadlines

If you perform well under pressure, this tip is especially well-suited for you. Setting deadlines for your goals might feel a bit demanding, but it pays off when it increases your motivation instead of letting your efforts drop off. This can work in quite a few ways:

• Use an Event as a Milestone

Have an upcoming wedding, festival, party, or other social event? Use that to your advantage— it can help you accomplish your goals. That can mean fitting into a dress or tux in your goal size, having finished a project that you can then tell others about at the event, or being able to say that you went through the entire festival without a cigarette.

• Make your Deadlines Seasonal

Many resolutions are lifelong goals. It’s a nice idea to “check in” with yourself as the seasons change.

• Have a Treat at the Finish Line

You’ve worked hard, and you definitely deserve some self-care that reflects everything you’ve done to achieve your goals and resolutions. So, if you’ve spent months working out to sculpt your dream body, bring yourself on vacation to show it off. If you finally quit ciggies, get a nice new haircut and outfit to celebrate that they won’t smell like smoke. If you finished your novel, throw yourself a party! You deserve to reflect on your hard work and feel rewarded for it.

Just Show Up

It might seem almost too simple, but the easiest step of accomplishing any goal is simply showing up. Come to the gym, even when it’s raining. Do your language homework, or go to rehearsal, or keep on studying. Show up, don’t give up, and eventually, your goals will feel closer and closer.
Your goals have never been more within reach at Jack City Fitness. With both in-house and online courses, our partnerships offer a healthier lifestyle for anybody—not just Boise locals. Our passionate coaches run an impressive array of services, from personal training to nutrition skills to group classes. It’s our goal to help you maintain your goals and completely nail your resolutions—no matter what time of year it may be. We’re open 24 hours, and we’re always here for you—winter, spring, summer, or fall. Get in touch with us today about partnering up with our unique fitness center—we can’t wait to help you find the best routine to meet your goals!