New Year, Old You!

Well, it happens every year, we wait for Christmas, it comes and goes, and then we all start thinking about how we want to improve ourselves for the following year. I know I won't be alone in thinking it, we all say it... ‘this is the year I am going to finally get fit and lose weight’ or ‘this is the year I’m going to stop spending and start saving’ or ‘this is the year I’m going to travel the world’. Despite really wanting to achieve these goals, normally by mid-January, I have lost focus because I didn’t acknowledge how I was actually going to achieve these goals.

So, this year we’re going to do things a little differently:

Step 1 – Think about where you were this time last year and things you have already changed, focus your time on these things, as you have already showed a commitment for improvement. For me, I joined a gym and sober community.

Step 2 – Set your yourself SMART goals for what you would like to achieve:

• Specific – I want to increase gym visits from 2 to 3 visits per week.

• Measurable – I will write on the calendar, the days I go to the gym.

• Achievable – I am only increasing the number of visits by 1 a week.

• Realistic – Notice, I have not said, I will go to gym every day, you only have to miss a day and you already feel like you have failed.

• Time – I will review at the end of January if I have hit 12 visits, I will look to increase in February. If I have not achieved, I will review and try again.

Step 3 – Make your goals enjoyable, tell a friend what you are doing. If you can, get them doing it with you. Try something new, a class instead of your normal routine or maybe a parkrun, for that extra session. Having people on your journey with you, will give you extra commitment to stick to your goals.

Step 4 – Enjoy the journey, not the destination. You will notice that I've not mentioned one of my other goals, weight loss. This is because this is less in my control, and I may not achieve it. However, by taking small, positive steps that are in my power to control, you just never know what is achievable.

With these 4 simple steps, I hope that you can all go on to achieve your goals in 2023, but if you don’t, do take one thing away from this, ‘enjoy the journey not the destination’. Life is too short to do anything else.

Happy New Year

Ben – It's That Sober Guy

Disclaimer – I am not a trained addiction or mental health professional, information is based on my own life experiences and shared in good faith to help others.