**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
Wanting this year to be the best in so many ways….. First and formost, I want to learn to love myself. To stop all the negative thoughts….to improve myself, physically, mentally and finacially. I need to learn to live for the moment and enjoy the journey. I am starting out with the small things that will hopefully make the big difference…..drink more water and get more sleep are my first small steps. Here is to the start of a great year and a wonderful journey. Thank you in advance for all the positive advice and encouragement I will receive along the way.
I’m going to eliminate soda from my diet, drink more water, and join a gym.
I am going to start working out with my 6 years old boy, he said he will be my coach and believe me with that boy I am going to be working out really hard and on time 6 days a week!! Feeling awesome!!!
My goal is to know and believe I can do this. I’m done having kids of my own and being a surrogate. It’s time for me to better myself physically. I have lost some weight but would like to drop 15lbs before a family reunion and to get some muscle definition. I am doing this for myself as well for my kids and hubby. I CAN DO THIS!!!!! 2015 is my year to shine!!!!!
This year I will be healthy living fierce!
This year is going to be about becoming a healthier me for not only myself but for my daughters. I am going to look at their beautiful faces and remind myself everyday that I need to make better choices so I can be here for them. I want my energy back to be able to keep up with them all the time and not feel tired. I see the choices of my family members and I how they live on so many medications and are overweight, they have problems doing everyday tasks. I don’t want that type of a life. I’m taking charge this year to become the best me possible. My family needs me!
I’m going to continue building a better me. Drinking more water, carb-cycling, and moving my body every day. This is not just a New Year Resolution, it’s a resolution to change my life!
I have always been over weight… ever since grade school. About 5 years ago my now fiance and I reconnected and I was the happiest I had ever been and the weight started coming off. I was more active and stopped eating fast food and drinking soda. At that time I got pregnant and the weight loss went out the Window. I was living with his parents and nothing was stable.. at that point everything changed. When my son was born I surprisingly lost the weight fast. But I was breast feeding and had mommy-brain and would forget to eat or really do much for myself. When I stopped breast feeding the weight came back just as fast as it went. I got a job, have been trying to do my photography more so I can eventually do it full time (with little luck) and being a full time mommy. To my surprise, what has helped me recently is a dog. Yes, a dog. I had wanted a big dog for a long time but decided not to get one until we had a big enough place with a yard. Well God decided otherwise and handed us this great pyrenees. He’s big. And he needs exercise. So what does that mean? I am now having to get my butt up and walk him a couple times a day. Amazing how much better I feel just from that. So i want to continue.. I want to do something for ME. This dietbet will help hold me accountable and it would be nice to have that supportive community. You two are such an inspiration… Thank you for doing what you do and changing lives.
This year I am going to get to a healthy weight so I can spend more time doing activities with my son. I am going to start by replacing at least one soda or energy drink a day with water until I am off of sodas completely. I am also going to try out healthier versions of my favorite foods.
My resolution in 2015 is to consistently be healthy. I’m really good for about 2 months and then bad for about 4 months. It’s a bad trend for me! And also I have to quit smoking when I’m out with friends.