What do most all New Year’s Resolutions have in common? They’re forgotten about in a few weeks.
Replaced with old habits, old results and the same uneasy feeling of guilt and failure. Unfortunately
this happens to 92% of Americans, statistics show. And one-third of people won’t even hang on until
the end of January for your Tulsa Personal Trainer!
Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail
Lack of vision/clarity and planning are two of the biggest reasons that New Year’s Resolutions fail.
We are creatures of habit.
In the book The Power of Habit, (which I highly recommend reading) Charles Duhigg explains that
these habits are literally hard-wired inside your brain. In fact, if you were to have a brain scan, your
habits would be visible. Your habits are physical pathways that your brain enjoys traveling because
they are familiar and it requires little energy. Since your brain is always wanting to conserve energy,
changing habits is not just a simple act of changing your mind; you literally have to rewire your brain
and create new neural pathways. Pretty cool science-geeky stuff to know about how our mind works
and how to become more successful with a Tulsa Personal Trainer!
Success Tips
Instead of a New Year’s Resolution, approach your goals and aspirations in 2017 with these success
tips instead….
Start by picking one or two things. Choose one or two specific areas that you would like to change,
and focus on those areas for several weeks.
Start small. Set a goal or outcome, and then break it down into manageable chunks.
Plan for roadblocks. Anticipate rough times/obstacles and have a strategy in place to deal with it.
Course-correction will always be needed at some point so be prepared for it.
Make it visual. Get a calendar and hang it in a prominent place. Every day that you successfully
fulfill your new habit, make a big, red X on that date. Having a visual cue of your past success will
motivate you to keep working on those new neural pathways.
Be crystal clear on your “why” If you don’t have a strong “why” in front of you, you will not achieve
the life change that you desire. Always start with “why”… What do I want? Why do I want it? Who do
I have to become to achieve it?
The good news is that while the old habit neurotransmitters in your brain will never go away, you
can build new neural circuits that will eventually become as strong as the old ones. When this
happens, you’ve not just made and kept a resolution or goal/outcome…. you have changed your life.
To your success this new year,
Clint Howard, your Tulsa personal training expert
Simple formula for success… my wish for you
As I’m sitting here in my office at TFS HQ and going over my review of 2016 wins and lessons learned
(not losses) and things I’m grateful for, and finalizing my 2017 goals/outcomes and looking forward to the
year ahead…
I wanted to share some thoughts on how you can make the upcoming year everything you could hope for.
I believe that you’re the architect of your past, present, and future and that you can get where you want to
go by embracing the following ideas from your Tulsa Personal Trainer….
It starts with change.
If you change your beliefs about what you are capable of having, doing and being…
…then you’ll change your path.
If you truly believe that you can have better health & fitness and a better body, and you decide that you
will have it – you’ve already overcome one of the biggest obstacles that stood in your way. Making the
decision to do something.
I studied this concept for 3 years in Exercise Physiology grad school in my Health Promotions classes…
the 5 Stages of Change Method- so I know it and can recognize it and teach it very well. You must first
get out of the Pre-Contemplation/Contemplation Stages.
Decide what your ideal health & fitness and ideal body looks like.
Get clear about what you want and why you want it. What will this provide to you and how will it make your
life better.
I believe you can only reach the potential that you have inside if you focus on being the best version of
yourself…not some watered down version of someone else.
You’ve got to be authentic on what YOU truly want… and for YOU, not anyone else.
If you believe in yourself and you commit to being the best version of you…then things get simpler.
And simpler is the next part of the plan that your Tulsa Personal Trainer gave you.
If you know where you want to go and have targets/goals/outcomes…then you can actually do fewer things.
And you can do them better.
Taking responsibility for unlocking the greatness inside of you. This simple formula becoming your blueprint
for success in 2017 is my wish for you.
I really believe that if you understand what you’re capable of accomplishing enough that you’re willing to go
all in on being the best version of you, rather than an imitation of someone else and you pursue your ideal
health & fitness with focus and passion – you will get there.
And you have to embrace that the only way you can create the results you want and the life you want… is to
take responsibility for producing it – each and every day.
Finally…I want you to know that you’re not on this path alone. I’m here with you to help, guide, motivate, and
coach you- if and when you need it.
Sometimes trying to get healthy and making sacrifices/changes can be a challenging and lonely place…but
I’m here on your team, to help you out any way I can.
So let’s look forward to the year ahead.
Use the excitement that comes with fresh goals to give you some momentum out of the gate…and then let’s
embrace this formula to keep us moving forward until we get to where we aspire to go. It’s worth it. YOU
are worth it!
Happy New Year!
Clint Howard, your Tulsa personal trainer expert