The new year is the time to set new goals.
However, studies have shown that most people don’t tend to keep their New Year’s resolutions long after the first month.
In an effort to reframe thinking about setting new year’s goals, a new health trend has emerged online. It’s called ‘Winter Bow’.
Here’s what you need to know.
What is the winter bow?
The goal setting challenge was created online by fitness and wellness influencers, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach or standard definition.
There are over 400,000 posts on Instagram with the caption #winterarc, and almost 600,000 on TikTok.
For many who try this trend, the Winter Bow involves using the cold, dark early winter months to turn inward and get a jump start on their goals, with the goal of ‘placed them until January. 1 rotates around.
It is also meant to encourage participants to be extremely disciplined and rigid with their goals as it is a shorter period to accomplish them than a whole year or indefinitely.
Laura Galebe, an influencer and self-proclaimed “Glowup Series CEO,” posts videos on her social media accounts talking about her Winter Arc experience.
She used the time to commit to “walking every day, journaling and sticking to (her) skincare and wellness routines.”
“I find it very transformative both mentally and physically,” says Galebe. “The constant movement helped me stay energized and the structure made the season feel a lot less overwhelming.”
How can you participate?
Although some say the Winter Arc challenge can start in October, it’s never too late to start.
According to Alex Rothstein, an exercise psychologist with the New York Institute of Technology, the best way to take the plunge is to make time each day to work on your goals.
“If you make sure you plan and actively plan for each commitment,” Rothstein says, “you’ll find it easier to stick to the program.”
He also recommends setting reasonable and realistic goals that are achievable day by day. “Recognize that if unforeseen circumstances cause you to miss a day or miss a specific goal within a day, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed the entire process,” he says. “You have to be ready to pick up where you started the next day.”
Galebe recommends finding ways to make fitness “cozy and cozy” in the cold winter months.
“If the thought of hitting the gym in frigid weather is demotivating, consider working out at home or joining a Pilates or yoga studio with indoor heat,” she says. “Another tip is to reframe movement as self-care. Winter is hard on your body and mind, so I treat my walks or workouts as part of keeping my overall mental and physical health in check.”
To summarize:
– Set realistic and achievable goals.
– Plan your routine and find time in your schedule in advance.
– Be okay with missing a day, giving yourself the space to pick up where you left off.
– Find comfortable and convenient ways to stay active in the cold months.
What’s the point?
Elliot Berkman, professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, says that goal progress, rather than just goal achievement, is psychologically beneficial.
He says it can provide “positive emotion, a sense of purpose and meaning, as well as agency and autonomy.”
When it comes to setting goals in a short, specific period of time, like the Winter Arc, he says these parameters can be helpful. “Putting a time limit on a goal can improve the chances that the goal will be achieved. It’s easier to stay motivated if you know you have to stop at some point, as opposed to feeling like you have to keep working hard indefinitely, which can be demotivating.”
Some on social media have drawn comparisons between short-term fitness challenges and strict diets, with the idea that once the challenge is stopped, one may return to unhealthy habits.
But experts say that’s not necessarily true.
“If the challenge is used to help create new and healthier habits for long-term health and well-being, then challenges are extremely useful in helping to guide and motivate to create these changes,” says Rothstein.
He recommends making a plan toward the end of the challenge to keep moving toward your goals in an achievable and realistic way.
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Image Source : nypost.com