New Year, New blah, blah, blah

Seriously, though, Happy New Year!

I hope you did have a great holiday and a fun New Year’s Eve celebration (or got to bed early!)

This time of year does lend itself to new goals, possibly new expectations of ourselves and those crazy resolutions, but you know what, if the New Year New Year slogan sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher, that’s fine, too. I think we are all kind of sick of hearing the “New You” bit.

But why?

We might be sick of hearing it because people start strong and by February they are back to where they started and I believe it is for a few key reasons.

1. They want something great, but aren’t willing to put in the effort.

2. They want to reach a goal, but haven’t thought about what it will really take (may be the same as #1, just the other side of the coin)

3. They are trying to change everything at once.

4. They didn’t get support or help from someone who knows what to expect/how to do it.

5. Deep down, they don’t think they are capable or deserving or whatever enough to reach that goal (***ding, ding, ding…this is a big one and related to #1 and #2!)

Here are a few tips to help you:

1. You can set new goals any time. Don’t feel obligated to start in January, but on the hand, there’s no time like the present as there is never a perfect time to start a new habit.

2. Start really, really small! This is a BIG tip (haha) because most people overstretch themselves and end up being unable to adjust so they give up entirely. For example, “I’m going to lose 50# so I’m going to go to the gym 5 times a week and eat chicken and salad every day!”

Instead of that drastic and scary thought, make a plan to do something consistently that you KNOW you can do. For instance, get up 15 minutes earlier and view the Sun Rise (this has amazing benefits for brain cognition, feeling alert, improving sleep and overall helping you feel better), go for a lunchtime walk 2x a week, go to bed 20 minutes earlier on 3 nights per week…..you get the idea. START SMALL and nail it!

3. Work on your self image before your actual goal. You’ll only get as far as your self-image allows you so if you don’t believe, sub-consciously, that you deserve a fit, healthy body, you’ll only get so far before you quit or make some “legitimate” excuse as to why you can’t follow through any more. Bob Proctor has some great resources for this and you can easily do a search on the internet.

4. Get some help/guidance/coaching. ​Reaching new goals and growing takes time, commitment and daily action steps and you’ll hit roadblocks and have obstacles that are hard to see around. Having someone on your side will help you get there faster and you’ll have more fun on the journey!