**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
This year I really want to focus on “adding” not taking away. Adding good foods to my diet and adding moving to my routine. Simple 🙂
I am going to start challenging my excuses instead of embracing them.
my goal is to continue my journey …eat healthy and exercise…and shareing my success with others in hopes of encouraging and supporting their journey by showing them life is grand and worth living even when you reach 65. Can’t wait to see what this new year will bring me 😉
Too get lean n develope a healthier life style.
I plan to get myself back into a 3-5 day a week workout routine learn carb cycling.
(Than you for the chance to win a dietbet entry.)
I want to first tell both of you how amazing you both are. You are inspiration in how you choose to live each day. You are both my role models as I embark my journey in 2015. I have been battling my weight since childhood. I have been up and down. I know how it feels to reach goal and I know how it feels to be ashamed of what I see. I’ve decided to take control and put myself first. I am 30 years old and have a lot of dreams to fullfill. I want to be proud of the girl I see in the mirror. So this year I am laying out a realistic game plan using your fabulous book by my role models, choose more to loose. I am reaching out to family for support. This is my year to make it happen and I will make it happen. I’m ready for a permanent change. I want to be present in my life and stop hiding because I’m embarrassed. I have about 60 lbs to go and I know each day counts.
Last year I made a resolution to get fit and healthy. I lost 30lbs on my own from January to the end of March. I was on fire and happy. At the end of March I found out devastating news that I had to have a major surgery and I’ll never be able to give birth to a child. I also lost my job and took a new one that paid half of what I was making. I was lost and gave up and gained 10lbs back. This year I am doing it again but this time not giving up! I know dietbets are helpful as I won two last year as who wants to lose money so they are motivators. But finances are still very tight. Though I’m not letting that stop me! I am going to fight my way through 2015 in making myself a more fit and healthy person which means eating right, exercise, no gossip, and always keeping a smile on my face.
I decided that I need to start remembering who I was before I had kids. So, I’m going back to setting I used to love – kickboxing! I’m also trying to give up sweets, but that isn’t as easy. Thanks Heidi for the inspiration!
I am going to work on showing my children that we can make foods tha taste good and are good for without being processed and coming from a box.
My husband passed away 4 months ago and in that time frame I have gained 20 pounds by eating my emotions. I would like to learn to grieve in a healthier manner. So I resolve to get back to the gym, start eating healthier foods and feel my emotions and grief instead of masking it with food. I think DietBet will help me get motivated. Thank you Heidi and Chris Powell. Love the two of you so much!!