New Year’s Resolutions

Do you believe in New Year’s Resolutions?  For a few years, I was so against them, and I’m not really sure why. My argument was that New Year’s Resolutions or resolutions in general, should be made throughout the year and not only at the beginning of each year. I still believe this; however, the setback was that I never actually made them, I just sort of “said” I had resolutions and winged a lot of things, I was aimless. Has anybody else experienced this?

Lack of planning greatly attributed to my lack of success. But also, and perhaps more importantly, I didn’t truly appreciate that a New Year’s Resolution Is A Promise You Make To Yourself; it is an act of SELF-CARE and SELF-LOVE. I had been mistakenly looking at resolutions as dreaded chores I had to bestow upon myself. This year, I said the heck with my reluctance. January 2020 feels like the perfect time to indulge in some self-love. The MOMENTUM AND EXCITEMENT are in the air! Let’s Do This!  Stay tuned as I’ve put together a FREE simple Goal Sheet and a few tips to help you reach your New Year’s Resolutions this year.

While I’m excited about setting New Year’s Resolutions for 2020, I am so grateful and feel extremely blessed with everything that 2019 brought. Thankfully, my family was in great health. Jose and I had steady employment that allowed us to pay bills and have a little extra for a couple of small vacations. My little ones met many milestones, Elias started preschool, Tommy got potty trained. I went back to school. Jose continued to make delicious meals! We have many accomplishments to be proud of, and I’m taking all the memories and experiences I learned from 2019 (the good and the bad) to help me structure a more organized 2020.

One of the MOST IMPORTANT details I’ve learned in life is that having an ORGANIZED PLAN makes all the difference in the world. Now if you’re a procrastinator, EHEEMM, like myself, you’ve probably given some thought, at some point, to some item you might want to potentially consider nominating as a possible new year’s resolution candidate. If that’s the case, don’t’ worry, THAT’S ENTIRELY FINE. Don’t feel that you have to have every detailed figured out from the start. However, do take the time to identify at least 1, 2 or even 3 realistic resolutions for yourself to start. The sooner the better! But no pressure…well maybe just a little!

In order to help you get started, I’ve created the My Goal Sheet, an easy to use guide to help you draft your first resolution for this year. My Goals Sheet is absolutely free, just click here and download your FREE PDF version. While My Goal Sheet is an excellent starting point, keep in mind, that as you define your goal(s) in more detail, you might pinpoint additional action items that will help keep you on track towards achieving your new year’s resolutions. For this reason, in addition to My Goal Sheet, I’ve also put together the following tips to help guide towards successfully reaching your New Year’s Resolution this year!!

Tips To Help You Reach Your New Year Resolutions:

Be Specific

Be as clear as possible with your resolution. This will allow you to better identify actions items, measure outcomes and will keep you motivated. Let’s take my weight loss new year’s resolution as an example. This year, I want to lose weight, more specifically, I want to lose 80 pounds by July 31, 2020.

Create A Plan

Now that you have identified a specific goal, how are you going to achieve it. Use the My Goal Sheet to help you get started on making a plan. In my example, I know that in order to loose 80 pounds by July, I need to exercise and make changes to my heating habits. My plan will consist A workout schedule and meal prep plan to help keep me on track. They say it takes 21 days for a behavior to START becoming a habit, however it takes about 66 days for a behavior to become an AUTOMATIC habit. Of course, this will vary based on many factors. It is important to note that the first days appear to be the most crucial and this is why it is important to have a solid plan in place.

Take Small Steps

Small steps will allow you to see big results in the end. It is far less overwhelming and more motivating to start on your resolution if you break it down and tackle it a little bit at a time. This will allow you to see small results sooner, build better habits and track your progress. In my example, loosing 80 pounds in 1 month isn’t realistic or healthy. For this reason, I’ve broken down my larger goal into smaller goals. By January 31, 2020, I will lose 20 pounds, in February and March, I will lose 15 pounds each month, in April and May, I will lose 10 pounds each month and in June and July, I will lose 5 pounds each month.

Track Your Progress

Hold yourself accountable and measure your progress. While having a plan is great, I recommend that your plan includes check-in dates. This will allow you to see how far you have come and reassess if you need to make changes to your initial plan. Perhaps you are kicking ass at reaching your resolution and you may be up for a bit more of a challenge. Similarly, perhaps you weren’t realistic when you created your initial plan or resolution and you may need to make modifications. Or perhaps your right on track! Either scenario is perfectly fine. In my example, I will be tracking my weight and measurements every Sunday.

Reward Yourself

This is the fun part. You deserve a little reward for your small accomplishments along the way. This is also a great way to keep yourself motivated. Treat yourself to a simple pleasure but try to avoid being counterproductive to prevent regression. In my example for instance, once I meet my first small goal I will treat myself to a manicure, an outfit, some exercise equipment or a movie.

Stay Positive and Be Your Biggest Motivator

This one can be hard for many people; I know it is for me. You honestly have to push yourself to be your biggest motivator. After all your resolution is an act of self-care and self-love. You’re doing this for yourself. Push yourself even when you’re feeling discouraged or unmotivated, dig deep deep inside, reference you My Goal Sheet, remind yourself of why this is important to you. On that note, ignore the critics and nay Sayers, you know the ones. Try and surround yourself by positive support systems; this may be family, friends, a community or support groups.

Have Fun & Celebrate

HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE PROCESS as much as possible, no matter how hard it may feel. Your MINDSET and ATTITUDE towards your resolution makes all the difference. Celebrate your accomplishment, whether you fulfilled your resolution to its fullest extent or partially, celebrate yourself. Remember your doing this for yourself as an act of self-care and self-love. If at any point the process starts making you feel worse than when you started, or it becomes too stressful or if your simply not happy with it, it’s okay to pause and reassess. The entire point of your resolution is to make you feel better.

My Final Notes. While it’s AMAZING that you are setting resolutions for yourself, whether that be at the beginning of the year, a few weeks from now or even a couple months into the year, please remember to BE PROUD OF YOURSELF AND BE KIND TO YOURSELF throughout the process. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, YOU CAN DO THIS!!

Lastly, I’d love to hear about your resolutions or goals in general! Please share your own experiences, tips or accomplishments in the comments below!! Can’t wait to hear from you!!!

My Goal Sheet For Weight Loss

Until Next Time…Much Love!!!