2025: What does this year hold for you?

At the start of each year, many of us promise some change to our habits or our character in the hope of improving some aspect, or all aspects, of our lives. There is something almost instinctual in the human psyche to see the start of the new year as a time of personal renewal. Stats on New Year’s resolutions almost invariably report that almost all people who make a resolution at the start of the year fail. Unfortunately, most of them will give up before January is over. In such cases, we are only defeated by ourselves.

The Ancient Greek philosopher Democritus (470-370BCE) wrote that: “Vanquishing oneself is the first and finest of victories” and that “being vanquished by oneself is the vilest and most ignoble thing.”

This idea that life’s greatest challenge is that we must overcome ourselves is not something that the Ancient Greeks alone professed. In Islam, the word jihad literally means “struggle” or “exertion”. Many Muslims say the most important, version of the term is related to the personal “struggle” to overcome our weaknesses, or worldly desires. In the bible, Jesus spent forty days and nights in the desert being tempted by the devil. History is littered with similar stories, parables, tales, words of wisdom that exhort us to be better versions of ourselves by vanquishing the weakest, most base aspects of our character and our behaviour.

Fitness and Health Resolutions:

It would come as no surprise that every year fitness and health rank very highly as matters that people wish to improve. In numerous surveys, getter fitter and healthier are the most popular resolutions people make at the start of the year. Gym memberships boom at the start of the year and by February many have dropped off. Somewhere in the vicinity of 80% of people who join a gym in January will have stopped going the time the third month of the year has come around. Some gyms have no problem with this model, especially when they’ve signed up people on a six month or one year membership. Other gyms work really hard to keep people engaged. I’m committed to the latter model and I work very hard to ensure that those people who start a new fitness regime at the start of the year stay committed and that for them working out becomes a habit.

Tips to Keeping your resolutions:

Actually, despite what I’m writing here, I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions. I like the idea of setting some goals for the year and thinking about what I need to do to achieve them. For example, this year I have a goal of becoming more proficient with my Olympic lifting so I feel confident to coach the two lifts myself. To achieve this, I know I need to improve my mobility, especially my shoulder mobility and my rotator cuff stability and strength. I also need to work on my form. I have put together a plan and have started on it as of my second week of training. This is one goal, I have others.

I have heard it said that pursuing one goal at a time increases the chance of success. I keep to one goal for each part of my life (fitness, professional, personal). I believe that keeping it simple is one of the best ways to ensure that you are able to achieve your goal or goals.

The second trick is to be kind to yourself for any lapses. From time to time, life will get in the way or motivation will wane. But what is essential at these times is to forgive yourself and recover. It is the capacity to return to the plan that will ensure success in the long run.

The third bit of advice I can give, and this is probably the most important of all is that patience is the key. Progress takes a long, long time. Starting any program of change cognisant that change will take many months, even years is crucial.  

This speaks to the idea of Plateau of Latent Potential I found in James Clear’s Atomic Habits.

 From: James Clear, Atomic Habits: page 22.

Clear speaks of the time lag between the effort we put in and the outcomes we want. His advice is not to think about the result we want but instead to focus on the identity we want to foster. Because focusing on the result will invariably lead to disappointment. Focusing on the activity means that each time you do what you’ve said you will do is a moment of success. In time, those successes will lead to results, but it might take dozens even hundreds of efforts before the signs that you’re making progress become evident.

In my case, in 2025, I am not thinking about when I will become a proficient lifter but instead focusing on what I need to do to get there. Each day that I practice my lifts, spend time on my mobility, going to a lesson is a micro-success. I know that enough micro-successes will lead to proficiency with Olympic lifting and the ability to teach others to do those lifts.

So, in 2025, set a goal to change your habits. Put a plan in place and follow it. If you deviate, be kind to yourself, shake yourself off and get back on the path. That is the Herculean Way.