Fit To Ride: Speaking of resolutions…

HN hardbody Biz Stamm has finally recovered from The Great Laptop Disaster of 2012 and is here to share some tips on making and sticking to a new year’s resolution.

From Biz:

Hey there, Horse Nation. Back in November I did some in-house experimenting to answer a nagging question that I’m sure keeps many of awake at night in search of an explanation. For those of you wondering, it turns out that dumping a bottle of hard cider on your laptop will not enhance its performance. Usually science calls for experiments to be repeated in order to confirm the findings, but the results of my experiment were quite definitive. After purchasing a brand new computer to replace the one I sacrificed in the name of science I am happy to once again to provide my thoughts and knowledge on fitness to the readers of Horse Nation, and allow my narcissism to lead me to believe that you actually care what I have to say.

In the spirit of the new year, today I am going to focus on how to make and stick to a new year’s resolution.

*Make a resolution that is realistic. Sure. We all want that perfect body, a completely organized life, and to finish that novel we’ve been working on for years, but let’s be serious. When we make these types of resolutions, we’re usually just setting ourselves up for failure.

*Resolve to change habits. I don’t want to make a hard and fast rule, but on the whole resolutions that focus on changing habits tend to be more constructive and effective than resolutions that focus on achieving very specific goals.  I’m also willing to bet that if you look at what’s holding you back from achieving specific goals, nine times out of 10 it’s failure to overcome a bad habit. Let’s say, for example, you want to lose weight (this is the “Fit to Ride” column after all). Instead of  resolving to lose 20 lbs., resolving to change your eating and exercise habits targets cause the of the problem and sets you up for long term success.

*Break your resolution down into mini resolutions. New Year’s resolutions have a tendency to be large and vague, often making it difficult to determine where to begin. Let’s take the above example of improving exercising and eating habits. A good way start doing so would be to resolve to exercise for 30 minutes, twice a week, and to drink at least six glasses of water every day.  After you accomplish those smaller resolutions, you can add some additional mini resolutions that get you closer to your ultimate goal.

*Don’t let small failures end your effort. It’s easy to say “Well I guess I fell off the wagon. I’ll try again next year,” when you slip up on your resolution. But remember success only comes to those who keep on keeping on.

Have a happy new year, Horse Nation!