Did you know Forbes said that only 8% of people actually attain their new years resolutions?!?!
8%!!!
Wow!
Instead of resolutions, here’s what I am having a few clients do and what I myself am doing: taking stock of what’s going on in my life, maybe that includes how 2018 went (good and/or not so) and moving forward from there.
If that sounds good to you here’s a step-by-step model of just how I am doing that:
Take stalk of how you are feeling about this year and in general yourself.
Journal whatever come to mind. You can even write some stuff down now and add to it later on as you remember more.
Ask yourself a few questions and write down the answers:
Every year we make big plans when New Year’s rolls around. What’s stopping you from following through on those in the past or now?
What is one of your biggest struggles? Why?
Do you follow through and succeed in your goals when you set them during other times of the year? Why or why not?
Now, with all that information down and all that good self-awareness going on, check out the Wellness Wheel below. It’s got 10 categories on it and each one has a scale line from 1-10. Take some time to fill this out by either printing it for yourself or drawing one on a piece of paper and filling it in from there. Really take time to think about each category and how you feel about it. Then give it a rank 1, being the lowest and 10 the highest about how well you feel in relation to that category. YOU can even get crafty and use colors pencils or markers to fill it in!
With all 10 categories ranked on the wheel, which ones stand out that need the most attention? These will usually be the ones that are the lowest in number rank, but their might be some that are higher on your list even though they aren’t the lowest in number value. There will generally be 1 or 2 that really stand out or maybe it’s even 5 or 6. There’s no right or wrong answers or ways to do this. So, try not to be too much of a perfectionist about this step. The goal is to pick 1, 2, or at most 3 categories to work on for the new year or ANY time of year. (Side note: we get so hung up on January 1, but in my book NOW is the best time for change. Change is growth. Growth is the best way, maybe the only way, to reach your highest potential or purpose in this life, success, happiness, and all that really good stuff.)
So now that you have your area or areas you want to work on, make some very specific and concrete steps on how you’ll get there. For example, take the “physical health & body” category which is always a popular one, rather than the goal to lose weight, ask yourself WHY do you want to lose weight? Is it to be healthier? Feel better? Live longer? And HOW will you do that? Is it to get out and walk for 20-30 minutes 3-4 times a week? Is it making more meals at home? Is it ditching the sugar, gluten or dairy for 4-8 weeks? Eat more whole foods? Heck maybe it’s hiring a nutritionist or dietitian ;) This is a great place to start. Finding your “why” and there could be many of these for just one goal, so finding the most effective “Why” will leave you feeling like habit “x” is a gift, NOT a chore. That’s when you know you have your true why. The why plus a how and a timeframe is your equation for success.
Do this process for any and all categories you identified as needing your attention. Next is to prioritize!If you have 3-4 categories you are wanting to work on, pick the one that is most important to you and tackle that one first! Once you master that habit or lifestyle shift, then you can pick a new category to move forward with next!
Rinse and repeat as much as you need to. We are always changing, so though it maybe uncomfortable at times, remind yourself it probably won’t kill you and will only make you grow!
“Change nothing and nothing changes.”
A little something else I am doing this year that’s new for me is picking a motivational phrase to remind myself of all year long. Then I’m picking one word for each month to live by and set myself reminders daily to stick to! I haven’t narrowed mine down yet, but I do have a list of contenders. When I pick it in the next couple days I will definitely be sharing it on Instagram and social media. So stay tuned! I’d love to hear yours or any other goal setting or new years traditions you have that you love!
If you are stuck on any of these or are just curious as I always am, I love the MindBodyGreen Wellness Trends they put out every year. Go check them out here.
No matter what you do, whether you make resolutions or not, stick to them or not, I hope you had an amazing year and are ready for an even more amazing year to come! Cheers!
Image by Ian Schneider and Unslpash