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As January starts to wind down, most people are to the point of either still “making it” or more likely “breaking it” with their new year’s resolutions. It’s the nature of the beast—change is not likely to happen overnight. Motivation shifts like a pendulum back and forth between both extremes and most people are left heading towards the indulgences of February’s Valentine’s Day with the optimism of a healthy new year quickly
fading into the distance. Have we already accepted defeat and are going to wait around until we have
to get into a swimsuit during the summer months to “restart” our health priorities?
President Obama, yesterday in his State of the Union speech, declared 2014 “a year of action”. White House aides are talking up how the president is “redefining success” based not on what can get through Congress, but on what actions he can take on his own. The Republican response from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash, said that “We hope the president will join us in a year of real action, by empowering people…” Shouts of “do it” rang out from members of the audience during the speech.
Outside of politics, what does this mean for you and me and our goals of bettering our health, well-being, and success in life? It’s the reminder that motivation, optimism, and the drive to make changes doesn’t have to be limited to the first of the year. Even if our motivation is weak in one moment, all it takes is the next moment for us to start anew. “Do it”. “Redefine what success means to you” in the very next moment. That is how we can make 2014 “a year of action” for ourselves.
Borrowing from the toolbox of strategies we use with our clients in achieving behavior change and as further discussed in our book, “Having Your All”, momentum is something that can be far more important that momentary success. What
good is it to move two steps forward toward your goals only to fall 2-3 steps back when things don’t go according to your intentions. It takes far less time and physical and emotional energy to move forwards with baby steps or with periodic pauses than with big swings forwards and back. It might just be wiser to maintain where you are at for a period of time until life and your motivation cooperates to take you forward again. Redefine success to not be perfection-focused, but rather toward making the best choices possible in every given moment. That is feeling empowered and is the meaningful and doable focus you want to make 2014 your year of action!
Ready or not, the New Year is upon us! This time of the year always brings with it a clean slate and a desire to reform our ways…or at least endeavor to try! Every year, most people make resolutions to change and every year those resolutions go mainly unresolved. This isn’t because of people’s lack of
wanting a better life as much as the reality that changes are very difficult to sustain. Our habits are ingrained and automatic at this stage of life and changing them requires constant and sustained
effort.
So, should we ditch the resolutions since they don’t seem to hang around till February anyway? I personally believe that the process of making the resolutions might actually be more valuable than worrying about if you break them or not. Just thinking about what you want out of your 2013, which habits might be harmful to you and are in need of change, or which actions will move you towards being your best person are helpful to everyone. Use that information to set personal goals rather than exact resolutions that are less flexible and represent the all-or-nothing mindset of dieting that most us tend to fail at. After one or two ‘less than perfect’ choices, people tend to feel like failures and drop the whole effort while falling back into their familiar patterns. With goal setting, your aim is to work gradually towards a desired behavior. You’re not aiming for perfection, but rather movement forward towards your desired behavior. It might be a little slow go, but set small attainable goals and add more steps as you accomplish each one. This way, you work your way towards the changes and life you want with a feeling of ‘success’ along the way.
As for the goals that you set, choose wisely or it may be difficult to make them stick. Pick goals that will have a tangible effect on your life so that you can experience some benefits right away. This will help motivate you to keep going well past the start of the year.
Here are 3 of my ‘goals’ for 2013:
- To finally clear off my desk and my inbox! I will stick to one filing system for my papers and e-mails and follow the strategy of looking at them once before choosing an action…bye bye stacks!
- Integrate at least two days of strength training into my fitness routine. I’m starting to feel the softness in my body that tennis, cardio, and one day of yoga per week just can’t seem to change. It’s time to follow my own advice to other women and get those muscles working hard.
- Tweet, tweet, tweet! I’m a little late on the social media bandwagon, but hope to connect with you all more through twitter, facebook, and the blogs here on ewomenwellenss.com
Cheers to a fabulous 2013!
-N
Buzz,
Beep, Ding…it’s the digital metal demon that jars us abruptly awake out of the most peaceful and relaxing time in our day. The name says it all—the ‘alarm’ clock! It has a way of grabbing us by the nerve endings and yelling, “Rush, rush, rush, you have
work to do, appointments to make, and things that have to be done!” Clocks are
time’s enforcers constantly letting us know just how harried, overworked, and overcommitted we really are.
We’re programmed to bolt at the sound of the alarm, but can it also awaken us to what really matters in our lives? Imagine the church bells calling those to prayer, or the school bells calling those to learn. Even the dong of the bell at the end of yoga classes drawing us to awake out of our
corpse poses and restart our day with renewed energy and vitality.
Time is running out because that is what time does.
- Is it time to think about what we spend our time on and if our day is really spent on what we find meaningful?
- Are we focusing our day trying to achieve something we really want?
- Are we trying to get somewhere we really want to go?
- What should your morning alarm clock be calling you to do in your day?
Now, these are all heavy questions that require ‘time’ to properly think through. Without feeling overwhelmed, start the process by creating a to-do list that has nothing to do with the obligations and responsibilities of your life. Create a to-do list of things that are important to you, but not necessarily urgent or time-sensitive. Think long-term and include those things that bring you personal joy. This is your list as this is your life and we have a limited amount of time in this world. Let’s all look forward to waking up to that
alarm clock!
PASSION… simply said, has payday 2 wiki the power to ignite the fire in your soul, to energize http://paydayloansonlinecaus.com you, and make your day complete. I’m not talking about the lovin’ kind of passion but simply taking the time to do what you payday loans online direct lenders instant approval love to do most.
Passions can come in the form of advance payday hobbies or choosing how you spend your free time. As a busy working women we often feel pulled in so many different directions that the last thing viagra for sale online on our minds is fueling ourselves. The
following is an exercise of three simple questions to get your flame ignited.
Tour the Bookstore: Imagine you are in a bookstore- what sections ez internet payday system login of the bookstore do you gravitate to most? List your top three here.
Go back to your childhood: Think about the time when you were 8 years old- how did you spend your free time? What were your viagra-canadapharmacy.com favorite things http://viagra-canadapharmacy.com/ to do? What were you good at? List three here.
Identify what gets you excited,
ask yourself: What have I
always pharmacyonline-viagra.com wanted to do or try? What do I want to do more of? List three examples here.
Finally, assess. Do any
payday
of these questions bring forth similar answers- if so, what is your passionate conclusion?
“Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping… waiting… and though unwanted… unbidden… it will stir… open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us… guides us… passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the payday 2 big oil source of our finest moments. The joy of love… the clarity of hatred… and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion http://cialis-canadapharmacy.com/ maybe viagra price comparison we’d know some kind of peace… but we would be hollow… Empty rooms shuttered and dank. Without passion we’d be truly dead.” – Joss Whedon,Screenwriter and Director
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