As a promoter of self-development I enjoy this time of year because many people are setting their new year’s resolutions. Even though I try to set goals throughout the year there’s nothing like the start of a year to encourage positive changes in my lifestyle and habits. I often approach resolutions with the determination to conquer everything from my personal finances to my health. A few posts ago I wrote about advice to an upcoming graduate that I encountered in my final year. After reflecting on this advice I realised that although I was leading a financially sound lifestyle in my 20s I had not being doing much to keep in shape.

This year I’d like to focus on my health and fitness. I’ve been good in terms of maintaining my oral health by regularly flossing and using mouthwash but this is an easy adjustment. Maintaining my physical health is much more challenging because it’s a long-term commitment and requires effort. I have plenty of resources around me to help me with health and fitness but I’ve ignored them over the last few months. I have great games (that I don’t own but have access to!) such as Wii Fit, My Fitness Instructor on Wii and both versions of Just Dance on Wii. I also have a tennis club five minute walk from where I live but during the winter months I tend to go into hibernation and avoid outdoor sports!

A lot of my laziness comes down to making the excuse that I’m tired after work. It’s true that I’m getting used to the 8-5 schedule but I need to make a concerted effort to make my day more exercise orientated. It’s important for me to view this Resolution as a goal. One of the things that stuck with me was that many twenty-somethings think they’re invincible. Much like investing my money now in order to support my future self it’s important to invest in my physical health to ensure that I maximise my potential even when I’m older. I’m quite certain plenty of ailments can be avoided when I’m older and I’ve always known that exercise is great for stress-relief. Getting into physical shape is quite a win-win situation if you have the discipline.

My goal is to be able to do 4 hours of exercise per week without feeling exhausted. It’s a realistic goal but also a challenge because of how I live now – without much exercise except my 5 minute walk to work and back.

In order to achieve my New Year’s Resolution I’m going to craft a detailed plan of actions for a month. At the end of January I will review this plan and assess how realistic it is for the rest of my 6 month resolution. I’ve been reading about setting a New Year’s Resolution and how important it is to tackle just one thing to avoid failure. My favourite bloggers have been doling out great advice about tracking your progress by keeping a journal. They have also been emphasising that the resolution/goal can be broken down into manageable chunks by, for example, setting an action plan for a month so that each week you know how you can contribute to achieving your goal. Over the coming months I hope to use this blog to help track my progress in getting into shape – much in the way I document my progress with my personal finances.