I’m NOT against making a New Year’s Resolution, as it’s always great to resolve to improve something in your life. Nonetheless, setting a resolution once a year, without regular “check-ins” is setting yourself up for failure.

Creating a more manageable goal in a shorter time frame (much less than a year) will prove to be much more productive and rewarding. Read more below for a couple of options that can help keep you focused and on track throughout the year.

Seasonal resolutions

A more progressive step would be “new season resolutions.” Make a new fitness commitment as the seasons’ change. As the seasons’ change, quite often our activities change with them. So, why not reassess and set forth a new plan 4 times a year rather than once. As the spring equinox approaches on March 20th, this could be the perfect time to revisit your January resolution and renew your goal or try something new. Our “Spring Tune-Up” is a great way to get ready for your Summer activities ask us for more details.

New moon (monthly)

The new moon is about new beginnings. Symbolically, during this time, the moon is directly located between the sun and the earth. This means we can only see the side of it that’s not lit by the sun. There’s a feeling of hope and potential for the next phase in the celestial journey. Therefore, asking yourself the question “what’s my intention for the month ahead” suits this phase. For the next 2-weeks, the moon collects more light (i.e. we are working on those goals) until the moon becomes full.

Full moon (contemplate)

The full moon is about reflection, insight, and celebration. It’s a time to contemplate, review, evaluate and gain a perspective about yourself. Symbolically, we must face up to what we did or did not do. Therefore the question “How have I been doing?” or “What’s the bigger picture I learned here?” suits this phase.

After the full moon, we enter another 2 weeks where the moon appears smaller (i.e. we make our goals easier and continue working on them) and smaller in shape each day until the cycle begins again.

Throughout the calendar year, there are approximately 26 new and full moons – therefore an opportunity to work on 13 goals and/or modify those 13 goals, according to the success of each phase AND in a timely manner that is suitable for change

Final thoughts

Although these are still events you can find on a calendar it breaches conventional thought of waiting for an annual event to make a significant change, instead, we suggest focusing on small achievable goals accomplished throughout the year. This approach works for most people in this way – it reminds them that change is a continuous process and similarly it reflects the rhythms of nature.

Note: this blog post was adapted from a blog post written by Sue Wammes, Fitness Consultant at the St Clair College Healthplex in Chatham, ON