Happy Quitter's Week

New Year's resolutions backfire on a global scale. Here's what I do instead.

Statistically speaking, 80% of us gave up our New Year’s resolutions this week. Were you one of them? Or were you one of the independent types who didn’t make any in the first place?

Don’t get me wrong - I love goal setting. I depend on goal setting. If I had no goals, I would quite happily never get off my couch, spend all of my money the minute it comes in, and drink enough coffee in the afternoon to hospitalise myself. But I have goals, year round, which makes me one of the people moaning about the influx of people in ‘my gym’ in the last couple of weeks, who have, noticeably, already started to drop off.

I think the ‘new year, new me’ rhetoric all went a bit toxic and that’s why so many of us gave up on the culture of setting resolutions. They pushed us too far with the ‘best year ever’ messaging that lately always had to start with Dry January, already the most miserable - and one of the longest! - months on the calendar, on top of registering for expensive commitments and public shaming of current weights, etc. During the first week of the year I could barely go near the internet without feeling like I’d been forcefully injected with hardcore diet and fitness messaging with a pointed side of ‘no excuses’, ‘better you’, ‘this is the year you stop being a dumb fat loser’, etc. I do not need that, I do not want that. So, like so many, I rejected the whole lot and didn’t make a single new year’s resolution.

First Munro bagged of ‘25. And on skis! More mountains is always a good goal.

That isn’t to say I didn’t set goals. I set goals every day, week, month, year, and longer term as well. But I do them on my own terms. I pick races or challenges I want, set the dates, then make a training plan that will include hours, TSS, or mileage I want to achieve in the lead up to them. If I have a bad habit that I want to kick (currently: staying in bed cuddling Wynter for - I do not exaggerate - a whole hour every morning, setting back the morning routine by quite a margin), I decide a pragmatic approach to kicking it (okay, bad example because I’m not at all motivated on this one. Just look at her!). I write things down and make plans and give them deadlines. All very sensible, all on my own terms. I review my progress and if the goal was too high, review why I couldn’t make it work and come up with a new approach. Not giving up in two weeks, like that supposed 80% of the population. (As a side note, I also set most of my yearly goals on my birthday instead of January 1.)

Goals I love setting: annual mileage, sensible finances, mountains to climb, trails to run, ability to hold a handstand.

Goals I never set: weight targets, giving up something I enjoy, or anything that depends on another person’s feelings or bending to my will.

The world can wait when Wynter needs belly rubs.

I have in the past really struggled with anxiety and dependence around anything that can be objectively measured. Counting calories (both intake as well as amount burned through exercise), measuring my average pace and absolutely berating myself when it drops below my arbitrary ‘good level’, daily/weekly/monthly mileage and collective TSS… all of these bring out the worst in me. It makes it difficult to set goals when measuring them turns me into a nightmare and sends me freewheeling back towards ED-land. I settled with just measuring all progress in terms of hours spent, and I can mostly behave myself around that. After all, it’s hard to set really stupid goals when you have to follow the logic of a day being 24 hours long and there being only seven of those in a week. If I say I want to spend, for example, 16 hours training each week leading up to an event, I can take a look at my calendar and figure out where those hours will go. If I wanted to do 50 hours per week, because that sounds amazing and I bet Courtney runs that much, I would very quickly get slapped by my calendar all the way back to reality. So, hours are currently the only numbers I can really trust to not make me insane.

It will likely be different for you, but if you’ve set some goals for the year and have concerns around your own toxic habits of the past, I highly recommend finding out which types of goals and measurements you can personally handle. I’ve heard a lot of good things about working with a coach (or even training partner, or life partner) who is put in charge of you, so to speak. Leaving it up to a Responsible Adult to keep you progressing without spiralling into bad behaviours can be a really useful tool. While I don’t train with a coach, I do let those around me know what ‘the signs’ are that might mean I’m relapsing.

‘25 will be a big year of Trail Dog training! This was our first session.

I’m also not a fan of sharing goals, but ones I’m currently working on are:

• Annual mileage for both running and cycling (not sharing the numbers, because this platform is anti-comparison culture!)

• I have picked a few trails in Scotland that I’ve never run in a non-stop challenge that I would like to do, some solo and some with friends, ranging from 70km - 100 miles.

• Bringing back journaling every day, because I made SO MUCH progress from that habit. I now do it while cuddling Wynter in the morning.

• Swimming once a week!

If you’d like to share some of your goals, or your approach to yearly goal-setting, let us all know in the comments :)