Psst! Can we ask you a question? 

How are those super ambitious New Year’s resolutions going? 

Be honest now…

If your answer is “not so great,” not to worry. Looks like you’re one of the 80% of people that have trouble keeping their resolutions each year. So why are most of us failing to achieve what we set out to do on January 1st? Because New  Year’s resolutions are typically vague, unrealistic, unachievable, and hard to measure. (Read: It’s not your fault!)

Here’s a new resolution for you: Stop beating yourself up over your “failure,” and try making daily goals instead.

Want to achieve your goals? Make them SMART. 

When we make our grandiose resolutions every year, we unintentionally set ourselves up for failure — without fail. 

Think about it: As we excitedly count down another New Year, the excitement tends to make us feel like we can do anything (or be anyone) we want — you know, New Year, New Me! and all that jazz.

Sure, we can aim to be better versions of ourselves, but becoming healthier and happier begins with small, achievable steps — think of them as micro-goals you can achieve every single day.

Consider:
This year, I’m going to run a marathon.

Versus:
I’m going to increase the length of my run by 1 kilometer every second day, until I’m able to run that 42km-marathon happening in April I signed up for.

Do you see how the second goal is SMART? It’s…

Specific: 1 kilometer. Every second day.

Measurable: Using a smart watch or a good old-fashioned Google map, it’s easy to measure whether you ran an extra kilometer.

Achievable: 1 kilometer every 2 days is definitely not setting the bar too high. Agree or disagree?

Realistic: Incrementally increasing the length of your run until you hit 42kim versus committing to run a marathon without any sort of plan in place — which is/isn’t realistic?

Time-bound: A date has been set and a commitment has been made. This isn’t just a fantasy that may or may not happen “one day.”

Goals you can meet every day

When it comes to goals, we love the ones that are: (1) meaningful to you, (2) easily incorporated into your daily life, and (3) easy to reach every single day (or second day). You can’t beat the sort of motivation that accompanies the feeling of achieving your goals over and over again. In that vein, we’ve created a list of fitness, food and mood goals you can meet each day.

To start, we recommend choosing 1 from each category, and only adding another one once the first has become a habit. (But remember, it can take up to 60 days for a habit to stick, so don’t beat yourself up if it takes you about 2 months to get to this point.)

Fitness

1. Start every morning off with a simple stretch.

2. Walk or bike to work. (If this isn’t realistic for you, get off transit 1 stop early or park your car in a lot that’s a bit farther away.)

3. End your lunch break with a walk or a jog in a nearby park.

4. Commit to 10 minutes of strength training every evening.

5. Spend an hour standing while you work. No standing desk? Try ironing your clothes while watching TV in the evenings instead.

→ Want to up your game in a way that is realistic and achievable? Join League’s 30-Day Challenge to get you moving a little bit more each day.

Food

1. Fit 5 glasses of water into your day.

2. Eat a high-protein, low-carb breakfast.

3. Sweeten your coffee with honey or maple syrup instead of sugar.

4. Eat 1 plant-based meal a day.

5. Add 1 extra veggie to your plate at dinnertime.

→ This February, try cutting out top allergens for 1 day or 1 meal to experience a ‘day on the plate’ of someone with food allergies. This community awareness initiative is called the Top 10 Challenge, and its goal is to raise awareness, empathy and funds towards allergy research.

Mood

1. Take a technology break for 1 hour (or more!) each day. 

2. Meditate for (at least) 5 minutes. 

3. Write down 3 things you are grateful for before bed. 

4. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual. (We could all use more sleep!)

5. Read 10 pages of an actual, physical book. 

A final thought: Sometimes keeping a resolution is as simple as shifting the way you think. Setting intentions — not resolutions — is a great way to do just that. Check out our article on this topic from last year!