This is not only the start of a brand new year, BUT also the first chapter of an entire new decade.
This brings a whole new meaning to setting goals for the year – what you set your sights on now can set the tone for what you want the next 10 years to look like.
To help you kick your decade off right, I want to give you a surefire 6 strategies to help you crush your health goals this year, even if you haven’t started yet.
As most people do, you probably always start the new year with the best of intentions, but quickly find yourself getting lost in the chaos of everyday life. And before you know it, the whole year (or a decade!) has practically passed you by, and you still feel uncomfortable in your body and sick or tired all of the time.
I get it, I’ve fallen victim to this vicious cycle in the past, but I made some major shifts at the start of the last decade to get my energy and body back.
First, let me tell you, it’s not your fault if you haven’t reached your New Year’s resolutions in years past. There is no such thing as failure, only feedback. Feedback that you need a different plan of action.
There’s more to achieving a goal than just setting one.
In the past decade of working with all types of women, and no matter what their goal might be, I have found these 6 strategies to be critical for success.
1 – Reframe Your Goals
Losing weight or gaining more energy are at the top of A LOT of New Year’s Resolution lists, and I get it – who doesn’t want to look and feel amazing?
However, those are surface goals. What is the true meaning of those goals? Let’s rethink the ‘why” behind them.
Is health your ultimate goal? Then, make “eating healthier” your desired outcome. Are you wanting to love your body again? Then, make “gain self-confidence” your goal. Sometimes getting down to the heart of what we really want will help make the path clearer.
It is helpful to focus on what you do want and the why behind it, rather than what you don’t want and a superficial outcome. Doing so will keep your energy flowing in the right direction, and help you stay more motivated to make the changes.
2 – Set Yourself Up for Success
Distractions are everywhere and they can come in any form; food, finances, physical clutter, negative people who drain your energy, or people who convince you to do things that aren’t in your health’s best interest.
Give yourself time to set up your environment to support the pursuit of your goals.
The hardest part of any goal is getting started, so set yourself up for success before you even start! Clear the food out of the pantry and fridge that isn’t in alignment with how you want to be eating. Set your workout clothes out the night before (or perhaps buy some if working out is new for you), take a nutrition class, meal prep for the week. By making your plans easier to stick to, it will make your goals easier to conquer.
And, set some healthy boundaries for those people in your life who may not be on the same path as you – instead of gossiping over cocktails, grab a coffee or take a walk and set a time limit with a reasonable excuse as to why you need to get going.
3 – Build upon your existing rituals
We have things that we do every day, on autopilot. Brushing your teeth in the morning and night, brewing a cup of coffee or tea, the first moments you wake up from sleep, the drive to work, shower, etc. These are all ritual, or habits, and something that we can build upon.
Often times what feels overwhelming about going after your health goals is the idea of having to “create time” or space to workout, eat healthy, meditate, drink more water etc. Our lives are so busy already it can feel daunting (and downright impossible) to fit anything else in. But what if you just built upon the time you’ve already carved out for the rituals or habits you already have in place?
This really helped me build a meditation practice. I started with just 10-15 minutes of meditation after my son went to sleep as part of my nightly “wind down.” It eventually grew into 30 minutes (sometimes more).
Another habit that has helped my energy, complexion and digestion is my “inner shower” ritual. Every evening before I go to bed, I fill a 30 ounce glass with filtered water and set it on my nightstand. Each morning, when I wake up, before my feet hit the ground, I drink that water. It helps to hydrate and cleanse – like a shower for my insides.
I often coach my practice members to do a quick gratitude practice in their car in the driveway when they get home from work before entering their house. It’s a great way to disconnect from work and be present for loved ones.
Assess your current rituals and how you can build upon them with the things that you would like to be doing for yourself to support your health.
4 – Get Accountability and Support
It’s ok to ask for help, and don’t let your ego tell you otherwise. Instead of spinning your wheels about what foods to eat, what exercise to engage in, which meditation to try, supplements to take or about anything else that might support your health goals, recruit the right experts and resources to be your guide.
As the old saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child”, it can also take a team of experts or resources to help you reach your health goals. Set yourself up for success by hiring the right experts to hold you accountable and give you the resources you need to feel your best. Your health-goals dream team might include a naturopathic physician, nutritionist, health coach, mind-body therapist, or spiritual guide. (There are also online programs like The GLOW Protocol that gives you access to all these experts at a fraction of the cost.)
5 – Don’t Play the Guessing Game
If you’ve “tried everything” when it comes to diet and exercise, yet nothing seems to work, then it’s time to test instead of guess. You are unique and therefore your diet, exercise, sleep, supplements and stress reduction needs will be too. What works for one person isn’t exactly going to work for you.
When your attempts to lose weight, increase your energy and get your health back under control aren’t working, it’s a sign that something bigger is going on beneath the surface, such as hormone imbalances, liver congestion, poor nutrient absorption, genetic inefficiencies, and your standard conventional blood tests won’t pick up on these hidden dysfunctions.
Your results will always be lacking, no matter how many diets or workout routines you try, if you’ve got something greater going on under the hood.
Running the right functional lab tests will give you a bigger picture of your overall health and take a more strategic and personalized approach to reaching your health goals this year.
6 – Celebrate What Your Body Can Do
You are likely getting inundated with diet, weight loss, detox and fitness offers right now, but don’t get too wrapped up in the hype of it all. Health has no size, so instead of obsessing about every inch, every pound or every calorie, let’s celebrate what our body can do instead by caring for it the best we can. Honor your miraculous ability to self-heal, create, and live. Our health is our number one asset and we should celebrate the small wins our body gives us each day.
Here’s to you achieving your health goals this year and setting the tone for you decade!
Let me help, learn more about the GLOW Protocol.
