It’s about to be a new year, which means new year goals. If you write your goals before the beginning of the year, we want to ask, do you have any goals that have to do with your health?
Adding a new year’s health resolution is a great way to begin the year. Many start the year thinking about their education, career, and personal life goals but sometimes forget about their health. Change things this coming year and add your health to the list.
What is a New Year Health Resolution?
Before we get into your potential health goals, let’s talk about a new year’s health resolution. Simply put, a new year’s health resolution is a new year’s resolution that is specific to your personal health goals. Your health should always be at the top of the “things I need to think about” list.
Making lifestyle changes at the beginning of the year is common. Everyone is at a different place with their health, which is why the word personal is important to the definition above. Your health resolution has to be specific to you and your needs. It’s important not to base your goals on someone else’s goals. Your body is different from your friend, family member, or partner. So, it is unlikely to have the exact same health goals. So, when considering your resolution, ensure your goals are specified.
Additionally, you want to think about sticking to your goals. The reality is that when making resolutions, sometimes the goals written down are not always followed through. This is one of the biggest problems people have when creating their resolutions. So, it’s important to make goals realistic and do your best to follow them through.
How to Set Your Goals
Depending on where you are and where you want to be, health-wise, that is how you will create your health goals.
When setting your goals, it’s essential to think about these two things: 1. your body and 2. something your doctor has advised you. Once you’ve considered those, start broad and work your way into making them more specific.
Take a look at this example:
Step 1: Thinking about doctor’s advice – My doctor says my BMI (body mass index) is too high for my age, and I’ve been waiting to lose weight.
Step 2: Broad goal – Loose weightÂ
Step 3: Be more specific – My current BMI __ What my BMI should be ___ My goal BMI in the next 6 months ___
People tend to stop at the broad goal when coming up with goals. This is what makes it hard sometimes to follow through with the goal. Additionally, they might not even think about something their doctor advised. If you’re really serious about your health goals, it’s always a good idea to think about your doctor and what they’ve recommended during a visit.
If you haven’t visited your doctor in a while, then you might not have much to work with for your goals. So, before you start writing your health resolution, it’s a good idea to visit your primary care doctor first. Talk to them about your potential goals and listen to anything new they might tell you. Weight loss isn’t the only type of health goal, and your goal also doesn’t have to be physical. Consider having mental health and dental goals. If you want to put your health goals into categories (physical, mental, and dental), then you can do just that.
If you want to ensure that your goals are easy to follow, incorporate each step and take your time. Once you’ve incorporated the steps, put a time frame for each of them. Some goals can be split into different times during the year so that you can focus on them and they feel more achievable. You can also have an accountability buddy. This is someone you give your goals to, and they will keep you accountable and push you to accomplish them.
Easy to Stick to Health Goals
Now let’s get into making your goals. The advice below is the beginning of your more specific health resolution. These are starting thoughts, and then you can take the time to expand them and make them more specific to you.
- Start practicing healthy habits
- Reduce my stress
- Cut back on alcohol
- Get more sleep
- Lose weight/ Be physically fit
- Balance personal and work life
- Have whiter teeth
- Take care of my teeth
- Sit less and move more
- Take more time for myself
- Stay up to date with my medical appointments
It’s time to start writing those goals. Let us know how it’s going in the comments below.
