**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
One thing I’m doing in 2015 is focusing on developing and maintaining healthy habits for the right reasons. For years it’s always been about being thinner, looking better in a bikini, not being the chubby friend/daughter/sister, instead of recognizing I will have those things if I meal plan healthy meals, exercise regularly and indulge in moderation. It sounds so easy but for some reason I have never made it stick!! Bring on The Diet Bet!
2014 – gained over 95 lbs after the birth of my two kids. I managed to lose around 45 lbs with diet and exercise within about 8 months. I have about 20 lbs to go which is part of my 2015 goals. This is an extremely hard process for someone who has been doing this alone. My hope for 2015 will be to find some support maybe through my crossfit box and stop my anxiety limitations from blocking me in developing those relationships. Baby steps!
I am going to give carb cycling and vemma bode a try. I lost 40 lbs this year just by cutting calories but that has stopped working. So carb cycling combined with 9 min missions and cardio at the gym. I also set a goal to run a half marathon in November to keep me focused.
I signed up for a 10k and to prepare for that I just started the program Couch to 5k. Looking forward to when I can run the entire 10k without stopping.
One thing I’m doing to achieve my 2015 weight loss goals is working to love and accept myself more, and using that to comfort me instead of food! Thanks Heidi
I am a mom of four, but have trouble keeping up with them. In 2015 I am going to start moving! Dancing with my daughters, football with my sons anything that I can do to spend more quality time with the greatest gifts in my life. I have a long way to go to reach a healthy weight, but I am ready to start taking steps and lots of them to get there.
My daughter, husband and I just joined your Dietbet! Excited to start this year with the support system like my family, along with you (Heidi) and Chris! Here’s to 2015 fulfilling my lifelong dreams of weight loss :))
This time of year makes me, and 90% of the world, want to make some changes. Yes, I need to lose weight but this year I’m going to take the pressure off of myself. I always say “this year I’m REALLY going to do it” but around March I get discouraged and stop trying. This year, my “resolution” is simply to take BETTER care of myself-not just lose weight. I need to get my hair cut more often, eat more vegetables, sleep more at night, go to the dentist…all things that I tend to neglect to take care of everyone else but me. This year, I simply want to take better care of me.
My goal for 2015 is to eat more real foods and to provide my family with more real food as well. I’ve realized how much better I feel, and my kids are rarely sick, when we are all eating good, nurishing foods.
To finally reach my weight loss goal and maintain it! I’ve commited myself to working out at least three times a week as I have found that sometimes is my biggest downfall- getting out of bed and actually doing it!