Happy new year, and welcome to 2021! Our Emerge Surgical team so excited to begin the new year with you, and to help you start or continue your journey to a healthy lifestyle.

As we all know, January brings with it the dreaded “new year’s resolutions”. They’ve garnered a bit of a reputation for themselves – as things we set, fail, and never return to again.

Most likely, this is because the goals that we create are super unattainable. Run 5 kilometres a day? Cut out bread? These are “all-or-nothing” goals, and they are easy to fail because – well, we’re human. We can’t dramatically change our behaviour overnight. We know, life would be much easier if we could!

However, when done properly, goal setting is a really healthy, helpful activity that can motivate you to stay positive and keep moving forward. So, we’ve included some tips that will get you on the path to setting some healthy, realistic resolutions.

Break it down

Let’s use our earlier example – you want to run five kilometres a day. It’s extreme but doable – just not overnight. This is an example of a long-term goal, and you need to set a few short-term goals to make it possible.

Start with walking or running one kilometre a few times a week. Then a few more times a week. Then step it up to two kilometres. Go back down just a couple of times if you need. Progress is not linear, and it’s important to accept setbacks as an important part of your journey.

Take it slow. Be consistent with those short-term goals, keep resetting them, and you’ll get closer and closer to reaching that long-term goal.

Understand the ‘why?’ and ‘why not?’

It seems obvious – of course you understand the goal you want to achieve. But, do you understand why you haven’t achieved it yet? What’s stopping you? How are you benefitting from not completing the goal? What about why you really want to achieve it?

These are all important questions to ask yourself when creating your resolutions. It’s a bit like pros and cons. Take a look as we, again, using our running example:

From here, you can look at what you want to achieve, and why you haven’t achieved it, and modify your goal accordingly. For this person, they would realise they might prefer a low-impact, fun form of exercise such as dance-fit or swimming. And then, when the whys start to outweigh the why nots, you’ll find your resolution much easier to complete.

Assess it

Sometimes, there can be more to a goal than it appears at a glance. Sit down and ask yourself questions like:

• How much time will it take each day/week/month? Is this viable with your work/family schedule?
• Will it cost any money? Do you need to budget for it?
• Is it physically possible for you to achieve? Are you pushing yourself too far beyond your boundaries?
• Are there any obstacles that you might face? If so, do you have alternative routes to take to achieve the goal?

It sounds dramatic, but if you’re serious about actually completing your new year’s resolutions, this is an important step to take. You need to be prepared for everything that might come up, and it will also help combat yourself coming up with excuses. If you’ve prepared, you should be able to overcome anything!

Set goals with Emerge Surgical

Are you looking to set weight loss goals this year? Practise “breaking it down” and kick your first goal by booking a consult with Emerge Surgical, or even just making an enquiry. We can chat through everything you’d like to achieve, and help you get there.

Get in touch now here or by giving us a call 9544 5200. We can’t wait to help you start your new year off the right way!