If you’re like many Americans, this is the time of year when you start thinking about next year and what changes you want to see. You might even make some resolutions, and like many people, run out of steam to achieve them before the end of January. If you’re looking for tips on how to make sustainable changes in any area of your life, check out this insightful article by Tony Robbins: 20 New Year Goal Ideas & Action Plan for Success.
In addition to other helpful tips, the article explains, “The key to turning New Year resolution ideas into real change is learning how to cultivate new habits – like going to the gym – by starting at the root: a shift in perspective. It’s these small changes that can lead to shifts in behavior and cumulate over time to create one massive transformation.
The truth is, whatever you are after – a better body, more passion, more energy, more money – whatever you want more of, in basic terms, comes down to one thing: an extraordinary life. So this year, stop putting so much focus on a singular grand result and start focusing on what we can do now to achieve that outcome. Turn your New Year resolution into SMART goals, which are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and anchored within a Time frame. Then take action today to accomplish them.”
It is widely known in psychology that our thoughts precede our actions, so if we want to see a change, we have to change the way we think. In the case of getting healthy, it might look like this… instead of saying “I’m going to go to workout 3 times a week,” start with your “why.” Why does it really matter to you that you are healthy? Come up with a few whys. These will become your motivation for the days when it feels hard, and you want to fall back into your old habits.
After you have your reasons why your outcome is important to you, think of the thoughts you have that keep you in your current habits. Maybe they sound like, “I don’t have time,” or “I’m in too much pain,” or “I don’t have enough money to get a gym membership.” Whatever your excuse is, begin to think, “How can I?” “I can squeeze in 10 minutes of walking after I eat lunch.” “I can talk with my doctor or fitness coach to find low-impact movements that don’t exacerbate my pain, or I can talk with a nutritionist to see what changes in my diet may support a decrease in my pain level.” “I can do workouts at home.” Having a “How Can I?” mindset helps us overcome even our best excuses!
The next layer of thinking that must change to help us achieve our goals is becoming aware of the things we tell ourselves that keep us stuck in our old habits. For example, if I’m trying to scale back on sugar, the thought “I need my sugary coffee drink for energy,” is going to work against me. That thought needs to shift to something that aligns with my new habit of less sugar. I can replace that thought with “For energy, I am going to get my heart rate up for 20 minutes within an hour of waking up,” or “I’m going to use breathing techniques to increase my energy.”
Changing our thoughts is the first step to changing our actions. We must learn to think differently if we want a different outcome than the one we are currently living.
In summary, if you want to make changes to your life in 2026, throw out the old way of writing down resolutions. The key to success is in your thoughts. First, get a general idea of your goals. Turn them into SMART (Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, and anchored within a Time Frame) goals. Second, decide on your whys. Next, overcome your excuses with “How Can I” thinking. Finally, begin to become aware of old thinking patterns and make changes to align with your desired goals. It may be challenging and uncomfortable along the way, but you can do this!
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