01/01/2026
One sustainable change!
January is traditionally time for new years resolutions, and many will be health and well being related.
If you could change one thing about your health and well being, what would it be?
It may be losing weight, getting stronger, gaining better control of blood sugars, becoming smoke free, reducing stress etc. That is your goal. The end result.
Writing down all the things you "could" do, to help you achieve that goal, even if some you would never actually want to do or consider in reality, can help focus your next steps. It's a case of sn*******ng ideas and getting them onto paper. E. G. " to achieve a goal of getting stronger, I could, go to the gym weekly, include more weight bearing exercise in daily activity, sign up to trapeze classes, get some at home weights...". The process doesn't have to be perfect, it just needs to get you thinking, and it can be fun to include some "ridiculous" options within it!
The write down who can help you with those steps. Some are obvious, such as family and friends. Keep writing though. Consider not just your immediate circle. Think wider. Active Scilly , your health team , Healthy Cornwall , groups and organisations locally, and further afield. What about online support? You tubers ( remember the Joe Wicks affect in lock down?), apps, books.... We live in an era that there is so much opportunity and option, that it's amazing, but also overwhelming!
Once you've written it all down, pick one sustainable change that you can make, not to achieve your goal outright, but to be a stepping stone towards that goal!
Apply SMART principles - the change should be:
S - specific (not a vague, "move more", but "I will walk up and down buzza hill..." level of specific.
M - measurable (you need to know whether you are doing it!)
A - attainable (it's not about achieving the end goal, it's about the first step towards it!)
R - relevant (it's got to fit your overall goal!)
T - timed (this allows focus, and builds into specific and measurable, as above)
So, examples
GOAL - to become stronger/ to age well/ to maintain balance /dexterity
After sn*******ng all your ideas and who can help, choose your one sustainable change! Your step towards your goal!
STEP - I will walk up and down Buzza hill, 3 times per week, during January / I will complete balance exercises while brushing my teeth daily (raising into tip toes, and holding for a few seconds at the time) for 8 weeks / I will go to yoga once a week for 3 months.
You can then review at the timed interval how your steps have gone, how you feel and whether they've taken you closer to your overall goal, and then start adapting and adjusting what works for you and what doesn't, and build another step, as you navigate towards your overall goal.
Progress is not always linear, but progress is progress, and whatever goal you set, focus on the steps, and enjoy exploring them. One small sustainable change is what you are aiming for, and once you are enjoying that and it becomes embedded in your life, you can then look at next steps, or building on that first step!
Habits take time to embed. So don't give up if you forget one day, it's OK!
Good luck to any of you who are embarking on a new years resolution, and remember, one small sustainable change, that becomes a long term habit, is a much bigger flex then doing something intensely for just a few days!
Here's to a 2026 that brings you closer to your goals, one step at a time🏆
