How To Make and Keep Your Wellness Goals

December 30, 2024 - By Courtney

While I know it is custom to make your resolutions before the New Year, I tend to marinate and reflect for a while before deciding on my goals. In this post I will share some tips for creating and maintaining your wellness goals and provide some resources to help you on your journey.

One important thing to remember when setting goals is to start with small incremental changes you can manage to avoid feeling overwhelmed. If you try to start a super strict diet, a new workout routine, journaling, and meditation all at once, you are less likely to keep any of these changes long term.

Start small and choose actionable things you can maintain in your lifestyle. Incorporate one small change every few weeks until you have successfully maintained this new healthy habit. Download my helpful printables at the end of this post to help you track your progress.

Disclaimer: Although I have a BA in Health and Wellness, I am not a licensed or certified health professional. The information provided in this post is for educational and inspirational purposes only, and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult a medical professional if you are seeking medical advice, treatment or have questions about starting a diet or workout.

This post has affiliate links, I may receive a commission for any purchases made through these links. Find more information here.

I started reading the popular book Atomic Habits by James Clear and it has helped me to define my desired habits and develop a “system” to achieve them. This is a great resource if you are looking for guidance figuring out a system that works for you.

One great piece of advice from the book is to look at your goal’s big picture and then work backwards to figure out the identity attached to the goal, and actionable things to get you there.

In all of my reading and conversations about this subject, there seems to be one key ingredient for success…START SMALL

Examples of Small Changes

Wake up 5 min earlier to meditate
Go for a 20 min walk after dinner 4 nights a week
Sign up for a challenge (gym, instagram, with friends)
Take the stairs & park farther away
Swap 3 meals a week with a healthy salad option (don’t forget the protein!)
Go to bed 30 min earlier
Pack your lunch
Keep a food journal for a few days to get an idea of what you are eating
Cut back on Mindless eating (watching TV, on your phone, snacking while cooking)
Create a Pinterest Wellness board to save healthy recipes and workouts.

I am lucky enough to work with several wellness professionals and I asked them to give me one piece of advice for creating and maintaining health goals:

Do what works for your lifestyle. If you are not a morning person, do not try to incorporate 5 am workouts. Find a time of day that works with your schedule and energy.

Plan ahead: Make a plan each week for your meals and workouts. Buy food ahead of time and prep for the week to help you stick to the plan. Find an accountability partner to help you stick to it!

Start small so you feel successful and keep going!

Wellness Techniques That Work For Me

Diet

I follow the 80/20 rule with my diet. Total exclusion leaves me feeling deprived and I can’t maintain it for long. I usually have a piece of chocolate each day and one day of a week I eat whatever I want. The rest of the week I stick to a healthy diet. I noticed over time that most of the meals I want are typically healthy anyway (except my occasional #6 meal from Wendy’s).

Exercise

As mentioned above, plan your week’s workouts AND have a backup plan. If you have an unexpected meeting or life obligation that causes you to miss a workout, have a Plan B so you don’t skip it all together (walk for 30 min).

Need Motivation? Commit to 15 minutes. I find once I get going I end up doing the task longer, but the 15 min mindset makes it easier to get started. This works with exercise and cleaning!

Mental Health:

When my mind is clear and I have a positive outlook, sticking to other goals is easier. Setting reminders to meditate during the day can bring your mind back into focus, relieve stress and change the course of your mood. This is a great practice to start after the last couple of stressful years.

Click Here for my favorite Wellness finds for Home, Body & Mind

Examples: My New Year Goals

I am sharing my three goals for the year as examples and to keep me accountable! 🙂

Goal #1: I want a calm and positive mindset so I am starting to practice meditation this year. My small step is to do one minute of breathing exercise in the morning before getting in the shower and dedicate 5 minutes of meditation immediately when I get home from work.

Goal #2: I want to have more time on the weekends that do not include cleaning & laundry. My small step for this goal is to dedicate 15 minutes when I get home to cleaning one area (laundry, bathroom, floors). My other secret plan is to enlist my kids to help for the 15 minutes because more hands = more results!

Goal #3: I want to be more consistent with my blogging. Sometimes it is hard to get back on the computer once I get home from work so I am committing to 30 min. per weeknight to plan or write so I have less to do on the weekend.

I hope some of these tips help you move into the new year with some inspiration and ideas for where to start on your wellness journey. Below are some resources I use and two editable PDF printables to track your habits and plan your week.

Helpful Resources

Healthy Snack Ideas

Nuts & Fruit
Veggies & hummus
Veggie chips & hummus
Apple & peanut butter
Hard boiled egg & fruit (try everything bagel seasoning on the egg)
Whole grain crackers with cheese or avocado
Greek yogurt (or non-dairy option) with blueberries & sliced almonds

Click here for my post on my Favorite Smoothie Recipes

Comment and share any tips you have for making and/or keeping your goals!