Falling Off Your Winter Arc? Here’s Your Reset Plan to Still Hit Your Goals by January
As someone who loves to set self-improvement goals, the Winter Arc trend is right up my alley. It also feels achievable, given that winter is a slower time for many of us, offering the opportunity to prioritize our goals. In many ways, it feels serendipitous: set the goals, put them into practice, and become a new and improved you. However, if I’ve learned anything about a wellness trend, it’s that nothing is ever as “easy” or “achievable” as it seems.
We set goals with the best intentions: exercise more, cook more meals at home, or prioritize time for our relationships. And when we fail or fall off course, we’re left feeling like we’re not good enough or we didn’t try hard enough. I’m here to tell you to throw that mentality out the window. If you set out to achieve your Winter Arc glow-up this season, you’re already more than halfway to achieving that goal—congratulations! The hardest part is putting that goal into action, and you’ve completed that step. Next is staying on course. So if you’re struggling to stay on your Winter Arc, read on for some helpful hacks and mindset shifts to help you reach the finish line.
1. Adopt a “future self” mindset
If there is one mindset practice I think everyone should adopt, it’s the “future self” mindset. Adopting a future self mindset means behaving and living your life as if you have already achieved your Winter Arc. When put into practice, this can be executed in different ways. One way is to write a list of your goals as if you’ve already achieved them, then tape it up somewhere you will look at every day (your bathroom mirror, above your desk, the fridge). If your goal is to prioritize eating healthy foods and cooking at home more, this list might include phrases such as “I grocery shop every Sunday,” “I eat whole foods that are nutritious and taste good,” “I don’t feel guilty about indulging in sweets occasionally,” and “I love cooking meals and trying new recipes.” You can tailor your list to whatever your goals are for the Winter Arc, but the key is to adapt your mindset to believe you’ve already achieved them.
2. Break your big goals into smaller steps
The Winter Arc challenge asks you to set big goals, but sometimes saying you want to exercise four times a week or go to the grocery store every Sunday so you’ll cook more at home isn’t enough. Our days are made up of a million decisions, and some of them we don’t think twice about, like brushing our teeth or making coffee each morning. These are habits we’ve developed over time, and to set new goals that eventually turn into habits, we have to make the path to achieving them as easy as possible, which means starting small.
James Clear’s book “Atomic Habits” breaks down some easy hacks for achieving new goals, one of which is improving by one percent every day. If your goal during the Winter Arc is to exercise more, start by setting a day each week to book a workout class, or putting on your running shoes each morning and walking to get your morning coffee instead of making it at home (habit stacking helps too!). If you make your goals difficult or unappealing, you’re more likely to fall off course and beat yourself up about inevitably not meeting them. Start small, and slowly grow your goals into habits you don’t have to think twice about.
3. Celebrate the big & small wins
So much of wellness culture makes us feel like if we’re not in pain or we’re not enjoying ourselves, it isn’t working. Instead of feeling like the Winter Arc challenge is something to check off a list, shift your mindset to see every goal you accomplish as a step toward the glow-up you’re setting out to achieve. I’ve recently started a “Big & Small Wins” journal, where I write down every time something exciting happens in my career or personal life, whether that’s a goal I achieve or an act of gratitude. Whenever I am struggling to remember why I set out to accomplish my goals, I look at the journal and am instantly reminded of how much I have already achieved, which only propels me to keep going.
4. Combat low energy levels
The challenge of a Winter Arc compared to other seasons is that you are also battling lower energy levels due to lack of sunlight, colder weather, and shorter days. As human beings, we crave forms of hibernation in the winter months, and it is important to honor that, but there are also ways to boost your energy levels so you can complete your Winter Arc without feeling fatigued every day. Upon waking every morning, try to get some movement and sunlight in, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. Movement and sunlight tell our bodies it’s time to wake up, instead of feeling drowsy for many hours after waking. If you live in a colder, cloudier state like mine, finding some other ways to increase sunlight exposure is also beneficial for increasing energy levels. This can be in the form of a sunlight lamp or by taking a Vitamin D supplement daily (always talk to your doctor before supplementing!).
5. Create realistic goals that are achievable
One of the hesitations I have around wellness trends like a Winter Arc is the time constraint. Three months is, in many ways, a lot of time to put into practice new habits, but it’s also not enough time to achieve a long list of wellness goals. If you started out the Winter Arc with a long list of goals and now feel like you’re falling off your original intention, that’s OK. There is still time to adjust those goals and complete a list that feels realistic to you. Start by choosing a few of those goals that feel most important and put them in the non-negotiables section. As for the rest, if you have time try them out, but if not, save them for your Spring or Summer Arc. It’s important that your list contains goals that are realistic and achievable because once you complete a goal successfully, you’re so much more likely to try it again.
6. Remove all distractions
Your environment can either hinder or help you achieve your Winter Arc, and that includes where you live and the people you spend a lot of time with. If one of your goals is to stop ordering takeout, but you live with someone who consistently orders it, it’s going to be that much harder to reach success. Winter is also a season of holidays, which can involve plenty of parties and the consumption of alcohol and sugar. A Winter Arc doesn’t ask you to remove these celebrations from your life, but it’s important to be clear about your boundaries and how you plan to approach these events, so you can feel good about your health and still have fun. Maybe this looks like telling everyone in your life what your Winter Arc goals are so they can respect those boundaries and possibly encourage you to succeed. This could also look like saying “no” to certain invitations you don’t want to attend, or practicing mindfulness when it comes to what you consume or say “yes” to. By removing distractions and being intentional about your goals, you can still enjoy the season and reach the finish line feeling proud of what you accomplished.
Calissa Kirilenko, Breathwork Facilitator & Contributing Wellness Writer
Calissa is a Wellness Writer for The Everygirl who specializes in covering subjects surrounding mental health, meditation, and self-care. She is also a Certified Breathwork Facilitator and works with clients to heal through the power of their breath.
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