**Update: Here are the winners of our 6 DietBet entries: Me: Christy Cloer (Facebook), @alishabowling (Instagram), and April Sherlock (Twitter). Chris: Chelsi Byrnes (Facebook), @joshmagill (Instagram), and Carrie Sagel Burns (Twitter). We replied to your posts with the info on how to claim your free entry, so go check them right now! 😉 You have 24 hours to reply. Congratulations!
Every New Year?s Eve, Chris and I gather up our friends and family for a little resolutions party. It is without a doubt one of my favorite days of the entire year. Together, we hang out, set off fireworks, and laugh about the crazy adventures over the last year. Right before the New Year hits, we each write out individual resolutions on paper lanterns and release them into the sky. There is something so powerful about declaring your resolutions out loud to those closest to you. These kinds of promises, as opposed to silent promises, give us an added layer of accountability that we all need…including me!!
2015 has absolutely flown by, and I really can’t believe it’s that time of year again when at least 45% of us make those New Year?s Resolutions to lose weight, or save money, or get out of debt, or go back to school, or cross off that bucket list item…and on and on. Why is it, then, that on December 31st?364 short days later?only 8% of resolution makers are successful? Why do we have a hard time achieving any goal, no matter when we begin? Why is it so hard to do what we know we need to do? What quenched that burning fire we felt on day 1 of this ?fresh start,? and how can we reignite it and be successful goal achievers? It might take some trial and error to find your fire, but go for it?you?re so worth it!
Here are my six solutions for reigniting, and then keeping your goal-achieving fire burning brightly?with some motivational quotes thrown in for some extra kindling: 😉
1. Have a heart-to-heart conversation with yourself and ask?and answer?the hard questions: Why do I want to achieve this goal? How will my life be better by achieving it? If this is a repeat goal, why did I fall (because we never fail!) the last time? What will I do differently this time?
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. ~Unknown
The best goal has a deeper motivation?that burning fire you feel within: to get a better job, to be able to play with your kids without feeling like you?re going to die, to retire at a certain age, etc. And while a goal to fit into that pair of jeans might get you started, it?s probably not a long-term motivator. Find that ?burning fire? purpose and you?re good to go!
Purpose is the most powerful motivator in the world. ~Gandhi
2.? Prioritize:? If your calendar and to-do list don?t match up with your goal, you?ve got a problem.
You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage…to say ?no? to other things. And the way to do that is by having a bigger ?YES? burning inside. ~ Stephen Covey
Yes, you need to take care of life and the people in your life, but if your to-do list is full of too many low-priority ?other? things, you?ve lost your bigger, burning YES! Carefully prioritize your life and make sure those YESs are front and center.
3.? Replace fear with courage: The fear of failure is a huge fear we all have to deal with when committing to a goal, and the hardest part of reaching that goal is often convincing ourselves we can change even though we?re afraid! One of the easiest ways to find the courage amongst your fears is to make and keep one small Promise to yourself. Success ignites even more courage!
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. ~Disney?s “The Princess Diaries”
4.? Celebrate every single success, no matter how small: Set up your own reward system?it works for kids, why wouldn?t it work for you?! Make your rewards something tangible, motivating, and goal-related, and remember that each tiny success makes that fire burn even hotter, so celebrate!
People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. ~Tony Robbins
5.? Be realistic:
- Achieving this goal will definitely make your life better, but don?t make the mistake of thinking it will make life ?perfect.? If you do, you?re setting yourself up for a big fall.
- Be prepared to fall, and when you do, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and confess, reassess, and recommit to your goal. Remember: Falling is not failing!
- Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Feeling comfortable is definitely a fire extinguisher!
Life is not meant to be lived in your comfort zone. ~Laurel Day
6.? Some other ways to keep that fire burning:
- Work on one goal at a time and make sure it?s a SMART Goal.
- If you don?t know where to start, do some research, ask others, and become a budding expert. For a weight loss goal, check out our Carb Cycling program?it works!
- Just begin. Focus on one small thing you can do today to move closer to your goal. Get on that treadmill for just 5 minutes, deposit $5 in a savings account, or look over your resume. One small thing.
- Prepare for and take care of small bumps in the road before they become huge roadblocks to your success.
Guys, I?ve got an amazing way for you to get a great start on that 2016 transformation goal, and it starts January 4th. Chris and I are hosting another?DietBet game??Get Lean in 2016 with Heidi & Chris Powell??and we?d love to have you on our Get Lean Team! It?s simple: Bet $30, lose 4% of your body weight in 30 days, and split the pot (which is growing every day, BTW!). What an awesome way to invest in yourself in more ways than one. 😉 Who?s in? Get all the info?here! And to give you a jump start on your 2016 transformation goals, I’m giving away three entries to our DietBet game! Here’s how to enter:
- Leave a comment below and tell me about one of your New Year’s Resolutions. And to make it really real, tell me one promise you’re going to make to yourself to help you achieve this goal!
- Make sure you’re following me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and then like this post on any of my channels. You can even share it if you feel so inclined. 😉
- You have until midnight, Sunday, January 3rd, to enter, and one winner will be randomly chosen from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and announced here on Monday, January 4th.
And remember, finding your fire and keeping it burning brightly is all up to you?no one can do it for you. You got this! 🙂
Xoxo,
Heidi
1,283 Responses
I am changing my families way of life. My husband was just diagnosed with serve diverticulitis and i am not going to lose him this young! We are scared but committed to a healthier life! WE quit smoking 8 years ago together, we can do this together! I would love a free entry because i can not afford the $30. Entry right now
I have Chris’ book coming in Choose more to loose more and have his Vemma Bode chocolate protein shake . I will take one day , one meal, one step at a time and increase my exercising each day. Plus drink half of my body weight of water each day If I fall down I will shake my pants off and start again the very next day. We can do this !!! I also am going to teach myself to love myself ! Good luck everyone and God Bless , Carolyn Mabe.
I’ve suffered with my weight all of my life. I’ve been overweight since the age of 9 and I have multiple health issues. I have tried numerous diets, fads, pills, & gyms. I never made it work. I do suffer from asthma & multiple sclerosis, but I’m determined to not let that stop me. This year, I have the help of Vemma Bode’ to keep me on track. *Praying* And I have 4 dogs to keep me busy. With the long walks, water drinking, shakes, & yoga that I plan on doing….. I’m feeling that this year will be the one where I’m able to lose the weight that I desperately been wanting to get rid of. It’s been a long time coming…
I am teaming up with supportive friends and coworkers so we can support eachother in getting healthy this year!
Great post and advice! I am tracking my water intake with the app Plant Nanny to be sure I’m staying healthy and hydrated!
I have been an athlete all my life… a former college volleyball player and wife of 29 yrs to a collegiate FB and Baseball player. We have 3 beautiful daughters, all very athletic-2 were college softball players and one is still in HS. I’ve been inspired by you recently filming in a town I teach in. In fact, the young man going through the life change with EWL actually loved playing VB with the HS girls that I coached and he was darn good at it!! I have put on over 50 lbs since then and just had rotator cuff surgery. My husband was bit by a spider yrs ago and long story short-it about took his leg~instead it took his ability to exercise, career, and determination. Hence, he has put on approx 200lbs since we’ve been married. I have stopped drinking pop~and plan to walk more to get exercise. I’m SO looking for a way for the 2 of us to lose together–we are both very competitive by nature! Your words are inspiring and I hope to be as fortunate as some who have found that balance in life where exercise is on the forefront!
The first thing I realize I need to do is quit beating myself up. It’s ok and I will do my best. More water and eating healthy will be a big part of my resolution. Also being ok with who I am will definitely be a part of my goals as well. ??
My goal this year is to continue my fitness journey throughout my pregnancy and then to reach my ideal weight by the end of the year. To reach this goal, I’m committing to a 30 minute workout each day and a daily spiritual devotion.
I have joined your dietbet and I am so excited to work off the extra weight I have put on in the last year. Thank you for your blog and motivation! My first few goals are to get back to yoga consistently, exercise for at least 30 min 5X/week, and drink a gallon of water a day.
I have not really made any resolutions before, but know this year it is very important for me to do so. I am 49 and probably over 350 (not sure because my scales don’t go up that far). I found out I have 2 surprises coming this year, my 2 daughter’s are each having their 1st baby. One lives across the US in North Carolina. I’d love to be there for the birth, but I’m pretty sure I won’t fit in the seat of an airplane. She’s due in July, so I have a goal to get down small enough to make the flight for my grand baby’s arrival. An overall goal is to get healthy so I can be there for both grand babies as they grow up. I know that, if I don’t make goals and stick with them, I will miss it all completely.