**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
A renewed focus on my goal of running a marathon by the end of 2015. Not letting stress overwhelm me or failure consume my mind if I don’t reach my goal in a set time. I only have 20lbs to lose with my goal of 90lbs and I always think I should be done by now but I have to realize the hardest part is behind me!
Starting last year, and continuing into this year, I’m writing a weight loss blog: heathershundred.com. I’ve found that I do so much better with accountability and being able to see my progress over time. I’m also focusing on drinking more water!!!
I am going to start the Bodybuilding .com – Utimate 30- day beginner’s guide to Fitness…Day 1 will be today. They cover nutrition and get you back in the gym when you have been gone for a while… (uh- hum 🙂
I eventually want to get my weight back to 114 with 16% body fat. I am now 124.3 lbs(, …the dreaded 10 pound weight gain,) but more importantly the increase in body fat too. Clothes feel terrible, and I do too. So, this year is to get back to normal.
In 2004 I did my first 5K with my kids, they had a blast and are constantly asking when are we going to do another one. We were lucky enough get another in before the year was over. So, I would love to lose weight and get fit so that is NEVER an excuse to not be able to do anything physical with the 4 most important people in my life 🙂 Thank you!!
In 2015, I am going to work harder on going to the gym and eating healthier. Instead of going back and forth of doing good and eating all the junk food. I want to loose this pregnancy weight to look good in a swimsuit come summertime!
I am going to cut out evening snacking.
i am writing down all that I consume, and exercising with my husband 6 days a week
For 2015 (and beyond) I’m going to BELIEVE that I deserve to be happy, healthy and SLENDER!
I can think of at least a half a dozen things I want to do differently for 2015 but I feel the most important will be to lead a healthier lifestyle. I eat fast food more often than I would like to share. I’m almost 45 years old and approximately 80 pounds over weight. I recently gained custody of my one year old nephew and have very little energy to keep up with him. I think losing weight will have a huge impact on my energy level. Happy new year!!
Hello Heidi!! I’ve watched every single episode of extreme weight loss and each episode my energy is rejuvenated to keep pushing forward with my fittness. The inspirational words you and Chris share with the world keep me from wanting to give up when I give into bad temptations around me. I used to be a division one athlete until I injured my back in 2011 and I’ve never been the same since. I’ve battled anorexia and have recovered but now I’m back to being overweight. I’m 5’2″ at 150 pounds and I’m 22 years old. I know I’m not the biggest but it sure isn’t healthy for my small frame. I’m currently in my last semester at school in the health field where I work with people of all ages, sizes, and ethnicities. I’ve seen the struggles that people have gone through and my struggles are very small compared to the struggles I’ve seen others go through. So this year I decided that my New Years resolution wasn’t going to be just about weight loss. It was going to be about helping others and lifting others up and making them feel better in their own battles. By giving back to others, I’ll feel emotionally better about myself which is my main goal…to be happy with myself. Both you and Chris have expressed how you have to let all that inside pain and hurt go if you ever want to transform your life. That’s the theory I’m going with this year. Along with helping others, my gym goals are to just make it to the gym 4 times a week and just drink water. I’m a huge diet soda fan and just kicking that habit will help me in my journey. Most people say they are going to eliminate junk food and soda and only eat healthy, but my main goal is to feel good about myself in conjunction with eating right and helping others. By the end of my semester in May I want to be the model of what being healthy looks like for my patients by doing it the healthy way unlike my past. Showing ownership in my own health will ultimately gain my patients trust that I know what I am doing. Just like you Heidi and Chris. Thank you for being my inspiration and role model!! Much love and God bless!!! ??