If You've Already 'Failed' Your New Year's Resolutions, Try This

By Di Westaway | Chief Adventure Chick and Founder of Wild Women On Top

If you’ve had a slothful or indulgent January, join the club. It doesn't mean you're bad, or lazy, or undisciplined. It just means you’re human. 

But now the kids are back at school, the world is back at work and you’re back into the swing of things, you've got a golden opportunity to focus on your wellbeing. 

Research shows one of the best ways to become your fittest, healthiest self is to commit to a goal that’s so wild it forces you to change your daily habits. Forty years in the health and fitness industry has convinced me that challenging active outdoor adventures with friends, which also provide an opportunity to help others, are the best option for most women. And by best I mean most effective. 

The bigger and scarier your adventure challenge, the more likely it will be to shift sedentary lifestyle habits, particularly if you don’t like exercise. Behaviour change is tough. And you have to be really committed change habits. So a big activity goal or event with friends is often the answer. 

A challenge can motor up your motivation to move more, eat better and rest every day. And it's super fun connecting with friends and searching for an challenge that turns you on. If you don’t already have a wish list, Google it, talk to friends, and then pick one that really excites you. 

Once you’ve chosen your adventure, I recommend you go W.I.L.D.E.R:

1. Write your challenge date in your diary
2. Inform your family and friends of your plans
3. Lock it in with a booking and payment 
4. Diarise your training times with your buddy 
5. Excite your family and friends about what, when, where and why you’re doing it
6. Relish the opportunity to share your healthy habits with your community to inspire others

Once you’ve done this, you’ve tapped into your innate wanderlust. It will make it so much easier to move your body daily, rain, hail or shine, while eating healthy food, getting eight hours sleep and making time for mindfulness and gratefulness. Plus, when you do it for charity, you don't feel guilty about taking time away from your family or work to fit in fitness. 

You’ll be inspired by your exciting goal, thrilled to catch up with your training buddy and motivated to do something towards your compelling goal every day. And you feel the benefits of mind, body and spirit in no time.   

There'll be no guilt, just goodness. No beating yourself up for overindulging, no punishing workouts, no stict diet. Just fitness, friendships, fundraising and foods that make you sparkle. 

Here’s a few more tips to get you going:

• Plan a sunrise hike with friends on Sunday morning to cleanse, refresh and get them excited to join your mission. 
• If you're a parent, ask your partner or bestie to help out once a fortnight so you can fit in a big training session. You can return the favour on alternate weeks. 
• Entice your kids or friends into weekend outdoor micro-adventures such as bike riding to a lookout, playing chasey in the local park, climbing trees, leaping bushes, playing hide and seek and sleeping out in the backyard.
• Ritualise your new daily habits of movement, healthy food and eight hours sleep with a tick chart on the fridge until they become automatic.
• Share your goals with your family and friends
• Don’t be tough on yourself when you overindulge. Just start every day with the same goal: move, nourish and rest. 

So, start now. Go W.I.L.D.E.R with your adventure and make this year your best one yet by connecting with your innate desire for wanderlust. It's never too late to change. 

If you're looking for an adventure to kick-start your wellbeing, sign up for Stayin' Wild or Coastrek.