**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
My resolution is to stop making excuses. Life if passing me by because I’m uncomfortable in my own skin. It’s hard when everyone says “you’re not fat” and shuts my conversation down before I can finish. When I try to confide in family or friends they always discount my seriousness because I don’t “look” overweight to them. I feel sluggish and can feel my stomach hitting other parts of my body when I move but no one can really understand except me. So I have to force change in my life even without a support group. It’s easier of course with someone by your side but when you don’t have that you just have to realize how YOU feel is the important issue. First step on the road to happiness. My first promise to myself is to make a food plan so I don’t end of feeling hungry and discouraged.
My goal is to become the fittest and strongest I have ever been this year.
My promise is to exercise everyday even if it is only a 15 minute walk if that’s all I can fit in and even if it’s only a basic movement which it will be for the first wee while, while I recover from an injury.
Good luck everyone, your goals and promises inspire me too, so thanks!
My resolution is to get healthier and one way I will do that is by not drinking any soda this year.
Learning to LOVE MYSELF in order to become the HEALTHIEST version of me. I WILL use a self mantra daily as I work on me! The diet bet would help my motivation too!
My resoluation is to spend more time with my family. My next resoluation is to figure out how to eat well and get rid of the extra 20lbs I put back on after losing it and keeping it for 3 years. Having heart issues has been a challenge but not an excuse. So it’s back to the grind so I can finish strong. Thank you and Chris for all the inspiration. Happy New Year.
I’m going to write at least a sentence per day in a journal. I say things and forget, but when they’re written down, I remember. It also helps me feel how I felt in the moment. I’m currently in therapy and one of my goals is to live in the moment. I’ve been so caught up with the past and how I need to shape my future from my parents’ mistakes that I’m not living my life.
I lost 80 lbs back in 2001. Would love to lose the last 20lbs before my 30 year high school reunion! I am going to try and sign up for a 5K each month to get in shape and lose the last of the weight! Would love to go to my reunion in July thinner than I was in high school!
I’m excited to finally get in shape and feel GOOD again! I was diagnosed with Hashimotos autoimmune disease and Hypothyroid 4 years ago and haven’t felt good since. I’m sick of letting these health issues get the best of me. I want to have the energy that I need to do fun things and have adventures with my kids. They are getting older and notice me not being able to keep up. I’ve gained about 40 pounds since diagnosis and my first REAL resolution is to quit soda and hit the gym 3 days a week! I want to work up to 6 days. I need more water as well!
Thanks for the posts, love to follow all that you do. Truly inspiring!
Jamie
One of my New Year’s resolutions beyond trying to get healthy is to write and submit. I have been a writer since I was in middle school, but even now at 41, I’ve never submitted anything I’ve written to any professional publication. My goal is to write a short story every week in 2016 and submit at least five of them to professional publications.
Hi Heidi,
Thank you for being an inspiration to so many people by letting us into you and your family’s lives! By being open and often vulnerable, it allows people like me to open up to becoming more honest; being okay with “perfectly imperfect”. I am a husband, a father of two kids (14 week old daughter and 3 year old son), a brother, and a son. I am a professional firefighter and am an outdoor enthusiast. One of the biggest issues I run into is living a life driven by fear. I am often times afraid of starting something, because I am afraid at failing at it. I am more willing to sit on the sidelines and dream, then fall on my face while pursuing a dream. I once told my mom as a kid, “you need to let me fall on my face so I can learn to pick myself up.” I understood failure was sometimes a part of life, but I didn’t understand the biggest part of failing came from not trying. In 2016, my goal is to find a way to give up fear and replace it with courage. With this goal, I promise to accept myself as I am, despite my imperfections. I believe if I do these things, I will be able to celebrate the small victories and live in those moments. I want to choose to live in the victories and let them motivate me to work through the times I feel I’ve fallen on my face. As a firefighter, I see all too often, that hard work will only get you so far…meaning, you can try to save everyone, but you can’t save them all. But when those moments come, you don’t set up camp…you keep reaching for the summit, because the reward is will be worth the struggle. Physical fitness is a big part of what I do, both professionally at work and personally with my family. Unfortunately I’ve chosen to camp out to many times, afraid of the climb. I’ve lost sight on what really matters in life and I’m ready to fight for it. I’ve been addicted to energy drinks and crummy food, thinking that a moment of self indulgence can mask the shame. But I’m laying claim to my life for myself, my family, and the community I serve. No more fear. No more picking myself last. I have the courage I need within me and I am worthy. That’s my goal and my promise for 2016. Have a safe and happy New Year from my family in here in Southern Oregon.