**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 just finished writing my SMART goal in my new notebook. I would like to lose 25 pounds in 90 days. I am also committing to both Metabolic Missions and Accelerators at a minimum of 4 days of week.
I’m about half way through the book and am learning so much. Good luck to all of these kind folks who are making commitments to a better 2016 for themselves, and the ones they love!
I am going to eat a vegetable and fruit everyday. I’m ashamed to say that most days I don’t. I’m only 31 and my health is deteriorating due to my weight. I need to get my food addiction under control. Can’t wait to buy the new book for more of your inspiring words! Love you both! ??
I am a 35 year old mother of four, an electrician and a runner with an injury that’s has prevented me from working out for the last year. Even with my strenuous occupation I’ve gained 40 pounds! No more. My goal is to lose that weight (and then some) of course but more important than that to get stronger and healthier. To make eating well and regular exercise a priority and to show my four young children what being a healthy adult looks like. Thank you for your constant encouragement and motivation to fight the good fight and get healthy!
My goal is to love my self more. I am making a promise to never give up on myself. I’m tired of the yo yo for the past several years. I want to be a string, sexy, healthy woman for myself, husband, kids and grand kids.
Hi Heidi and Chris! I’m Penny. I’m 26 yrs old. Been married for 7 years. My resolution is pretty simple to explain. Not gonna be easy to stick to. I’ve been overweight my whole life, and I don’t want to pass my bad habits on to my daughter. I want to be healthy. I’m about 200 lbs overweight. My husband, my daughter, and I just moved to another state after living in FL our whole lives. I’ve been a SAHM for 6 years. My baby girl and husband are my life. I want to be able to walk the dog. I want to chase my daughter. I want to do the simple things in life without constantly being winded or in pain. I’d like to be about 100 lbs lighter by the end of this year. I don’t have a specific number. I just want to be happy and healthy. Right now I’m depressed and hate the rut that I’m in. I’ve lost weight in the past, but always gained it back. I want to break this cycle and finally strive to be the best mother and wife I can be. I hate to sound cheesy, but I think this is my year. <3 God bless you, Powell Family! Here's to a fabulous 2016!
Every year I make the same weight loss goal, I’m going to see my goal weight I’m going to finish this program or that… After reading the first half of your new book I’m changing my goal
2016 will be about finding the positivity in life. What I mean is in all aspects, clearing out negative baggage that has accumulated through negative friends, holding on to items that bring negative feelings doing things that bring joy instead of what we feel every one wants us to do. I plan to spend more TIME with my kids and less money, more TIME with my hubby and less on my phone and more time on ME, maybe it’s not losing weight that will make me happy but being happy with my self that will finally bring the rest together! My first goal is to start with just 1 min each morning of mindful meditation and try to work my way up to 5 more each month! 2016 will be my year to find me 🙂 instead of try to make me into what I think I should be 😉
My biggest resolution this year is to just be healthy. I’m tired of putting myself last. I plan on making sure to work out every day, eat real foods 95% of the time and to drink 2L of water a day. I can’t wait to see the results of what I can accomplish!
My resolution is to change my relationship with food, and treat food as fuel (rather than a comfort or a reward or a bribe). To get me there, I promise to stop eating in secret. (My husband always knows anyhow.)
I am not making a resolution this year! If I was it would be the same as every year…lose weight, eat better, be happier and less stressed blah blah blah. I set myself up to fail every year. This year will be different…I am making a deceleration! I am simply going to be the best me that I can be. Here is the reality- I was blessed or cursed (however you would like to look at it) to go to Scotland and study for three months, It was GUT wrenching to leave my family, country and everything I knew behind. I was dropped into a country that I had to learn who I was on my own again. I had to walk .7 miles uphill to the train, learn to take a train into a huge city, than walk another mile (yes up another hill) to get to the class. I was so out of shape…I almost died literally carrying 270 pounds up hills. I got looks- sure I did, but by the end of three months I had lost 18 pounds and was able to normally walk up the hills. I can do this…it takes time, effort and the drive to do it…this I understand now. As I sit here, nearing 38 years old (Jan 5th) I am sitting myself down for a face to face, Here is the reality…I can finally quit smoking (yup- gross habit that has chained me for 18 years now), I can lose this weight but not for the point of getting back to that miracle high school weight, but because I have a son, people who care and a future. Life is not hopeless…I have just kept myself down. This year will be different…I will continue to explore who this person inside of me is. I will be the best me for me, for those I love and to truly smile…and mean it. She is in there…I know she is. Cheers and bless you all!
I know that the chances of anyone even reading this are slim to none…but it feels great to put this out there…yes world- it is out there!
I’m going to continue to adopt a healthier lifestyle. My main focus of that will be to continue clean eating and improve at it. In order to achieve this, I will meal plan. I have found that over the past few months, I’ve really enjoyed finding clean eating recipes, adapting current recipes with clean ingredients and I love how I feel. However, I do find myself sneaking in old habits & favorite foods that don’t make my body feel great. This sneaking happens when I’m not prepared and don’t have other options on hand. I will meal plan once a week to make sure this isn’t a problem in 2016!!