**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 almost healed from a badly sprained ankle and I want to get back to running. I also want to add in weight lifting. This year is for me!
This year I Am going to do it!! I have struggled with my weight all my life . . When our 12 year old started getting down on herself about her weight & using the word fat ~ It brought me back and I never want her to feel that way. I want so much better for her and our other children. It makes me so sad that I have been such a poor role model for our two daughters and our son. I want to be the kind of mother who teaches my children how to eat right, exercise, how to truly take care of themselves & to finally break the chain of obesity in my family tree… in the end of August my husband and I with our three kids started working out with an awesome group of people. We have been learning about nutrition & how far we can push my bodies. I have a long way to my goal of a healthy weight and BMI but I know in my heart that I can do this! I am worth it!! And This is my year
I’ve struggled with weight and food my whole life. I’m now watching my 8 year old daughter do the same thing. My goal for 2015 is to improve my health so I can help my daughter.
My goal is to exercise at least 3 times a week every week, more if I can. I would like to lose 20 lbs to look good for my brother’s wedding. I also want to be a healthy and fit mom that my kids look up to.
I am going to eat better and move more. I vow to do something for me each day because I always do for others first.
My goal for 2015 is to get back on the healthy track after taking a “break” last year for a mastectomy and chemo. Started by walking a fast mile a day and not eating out so much.
In 2015 I promised myself it would be the year of completion – of attaining a goal I’ve been working towards for 6 years and come close to and then let lag. I’ve finally found a workout program I love but when I get within 10-15 pounds of my ultimate goal I settle and let myself get busy with other things and the weight begins to come back. This year – before my husbands 10 year reunion – I plan to make my goal!
every year my resolution is to lose weight. And I starve myself or spend lots of money for numerous products gym memberships etc. Hasn’t worked. I need to lose at least half my weight. This year my resolution will be to make healthier choices. To put my self fist. To take care of my mind spirit and body.
Great blog Heidi!
I am re-reading Chris’s book Choose More lose more…again…and the thing that has stuck with me the most this time is if I make a promise to myself I need to follow through. That has been my biggest problem. I am a mother and wife and I work and I make promises for everyone else and follow through. (I’m big on doing the thing I say I’m going to do, especially for my kids!) But when it comes to myself it doesn’t happen. So that is my resolution….to make a promise to MYSELF and DO what I say I’m going to do!…FOR ME!!
The first step I am taking in 2015 is that I am making sure that I have something healthy for breakfast. No more skipping meals and finding myself ravenously hungry at the next meal.
I need to lose about 70 pounds. This year I am giving up my Diet Pepsi for water:) an no more lunches out at work. It started out the group of us would go out for lunch one day a week but then someone did not feel like eating what they brought and sometimes it ended up being 3 times a week I told them no more lunches out for me and a couple of them were upset. But need to do it for me. I would love to be picked for the free Dietbet entry as I believe it would help me get through the tough first days. I bought Chris book last year still struggling with what to eat.Thanks to you two for being so motivationable and sharing your family with us all.. Happy New Year.