One of the most common New Year's resolutions is to get physically healthier, specifically to lose or gain weight.

And most of the time, it goes like this:

1. Their motivation is fueled to the max for the first two weeks and they’re consistently going to the gym and eating healthy.

2. They break their gym streak because their days were too busy or they weren’t in the mood to go.

3. They become miserable with their diet.

4. They give up and go back to their usual routine.

Whether it’s a physical health goal or not, most people fail to achieve their resolutions, and there could be a number of reasons why. Lack of discipline, not setting specific goals, having unrealistic expectations, etc.

But yesterday, I watched a video where this guy talked about his weight loss journey, and how he lost 30 pounds in 10 months.

He went into things like his eating habits, his exercise routine, and how he kept himself motivated throughout his journey.

The last part is what I want to talk about because the advice he gave was so simple and so obvious, but you don’t see most people doing it.

It worked for him, and his appearance showed it. If I compare how the guy looked one year ago to what he looks like now, the difference is incredible.

What he said was this:

Instead of telling yourself, “This year, I want to eat healthier and exercise more,” you say, “I want to lose X amount of pounds by Y date.”

Of course, this isn’t anything revolutionary. It follows the principles of SMART goals, which, if you don’t know, stands for goals that are:

Specific - Set real numbers

Measurable - The goal is trackable

Achievable - The goal is realistic

Relevant - Whether or not the goal aligns with your overall objective and life goals

Time-based - Setting a deadline

This is something that was taught to us at some point during our dreaded schooling days, yet people tend to forget to set deadlines for themselves.

Like I mentioned before, us humans procrastinate, and if we don’t have deadlines to meet, then nothing will get done.

It’s pretty much psychology 101.

Plus it’s not less daunting to think about maintaining an exercise and diet routine for 10 months versus doing it for the rest of your life. And by the time you push through those 10 months, that new routine will become a habit.

Hopefully, this’ll be a good refresher for you and will help if, or when, you’re setting your 2022 goals.

And don’t think this principle isn’t applicable to your marketing efforts too.