From Doubt to Determination: Strategies to Break Through the Mid-January Goal Slump
We have officially hit almost Twenty days into 2025 and for a lot of us, our new years resolutions are starting to feel a lot less shiny and well.. new.
Two weeks ago you may have been ready to conquer your weight loss/ fitness / (enter anything here) goal and absolutely *nothing* was going to stop you.
That is- until life hit. The possibility of that shiny new goal started feeling more and more out of reach as responsibilities and the routine start to set in. Changes may not be happening as fast as you had hoped and now you’re left wondering if it’s really worth it. If you’re thinking “oh my god that’s me” you are not alone, and this is for you.
Welcome to the perfectly normal “Ambivalence” stage of your journey. Ambivalence is that weird mix of feelings where one part of you is saying, “Let’s do this!” while the other part is like, “Ugh, is this even worth it?” It’s the internal back-and-forth that can make you feel stuck or unsure about what to do next.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone. This stage happens to everyone, especially when the excitement of starting something new wears off, and the work starts to feel, well, harder than you’d hoped. But here’s the thing: ambivalence doesn’t mean you’re failing—it just means you’re human. And the good news? You can move through it. Here are four strategies to help navigate, and finally break the cycle, of ambivalence so you can reach your goals:
1.Build Awareness: Ask yourself What part is creating the most friction? Now that I understand what it is, what are some strategies to move past this?
2.Simplify your action steps. For example, if you are trying to lose weight, what is the easiest way to stick to your calorie deficit? If logging every meal is too much, could you start with tracking just breakfast and then build on that foundation?
3.Reframe. Instead of thinking “I haven’t seen any changes yet, maybe I should just stop” try “I haven’t seen any changes yet, but I know I am being consistent, and that these things take time, I will keep trying”
4.Be realistic with your timeline. Often, especially for those of us are looking to shed a few extra pounds, we are wanting change to come quickly. Perhaps even it has happened in the past, but this time things are different. Being realistic with our expectations and timeline when it comes to body composition can help in the long run to keep us from running out of steam. Why not give yourself more than two or three months to see major changes?
Losing steam and questioning whether the changes we are making are worth it are a normal part of the human experience, but in order to keep going, we need to learn to navigate through the storm and out to the other side by shifting our perspectives to see beyond that horizon. When you do, I promise you, it’ll be worth it.
After all: Smooth seas do not make skilled sailors.
- Coach S
