New year, new you!

Start the new year right

As we begin to roll towards the end of the year, we start to think about our New Year’s resolutions. We all have the best intentions for the new year and want to form new, maybe healthier habits. Sadly, 77% of the people never accomplish their new year goals.

Dreaming about what you want to do in 2017 is not a bad thing. However, many of us seem to stuck in the first days of the year, thinking about losing some weight, starting a business or saving money instead of making it happen.

In my opinion, it’s because we expect January to be the start of so many great things we wish for, but we don’t think longterm. We have to accomplish everything within the first few months.

In fact, we simply don’t realise the short term satisfaction that keeps us motivated and striving towards our dreams and goals.

Sometimes we even forget about our goals after the first quarter of the year and just carry on with our life as before. At worst we give up and beat ourselves up for being lazy or incapable of change.

But fear not, we got some hacks for you, with which you can more likely accomplish all your goals and stick to your plans.

Skip resolutions, set intensions

If we set resolutions, we’re not flexible to change. Let’s imagine we’re not getting there in the way we determined to, it’s much easier to say “I’ve failed.” With an intention, we’re aiming towards something and are less attached to the how. Your goals for the next year become much more achievable.

One at a time

I know so many people that make huge lists of their new year’s goals. It’s so hard to change everything at once. Start by choosing one thing to focus on. Keep things simple and accomplish one thing at a time before you tackle the next one.

Take action NOW

Just because it is called “new years resolution” doesn’t mean you have to wait until January 1st to start.

Do you want to lose weight? Get in your workout clothes and go running. Throw away your processed and packaged food and create a healthy shopping list. Need help with that? We can help you with a meal plan that fits you and your needs.

Do you want to save money? Then figure out what monthly expenses can be eliminated and cancel useless subscriptions.

Don’t wait for something to happen. If you want to be successful you have to start now!

Realistic time horizons

You didn’t put that extra 20kg on in a week. Therefore, don’t expect it to come off in a week. We live in a world where we want instant gratification. Here’s the thing: Being successful and accomplishing your goals takes time.

Patience is key

If you’re looking to loose body fat the healthy way, then give yourself the room to learn and make mistakes over the upcoming weeks. You need to be realistic about your goals and strive for a longterm progress. Things usually don’t change over night.

Wasteful activities

I heard it too often: “I don’t have enough time to read articles about financing or healthy eating or X”. Bullshit!

This is coming from the people that hit the snooze button 9 times before getting out of bed, watching two hours of Gilmore Girls every night, and check their mails and Facebook status updates every 30 minutes.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad thing to spend some time doing a relaxing activity. But you can’t spend several hours a day playing games and still think you can reach your goals.

A simple hack: Cut your TV time in half and spend that time working on your goals!

New experiences

Commit to do something new that you have thought about doing, but haven’t done yet, for every month. Notice how it affects your life.

For example, do yoga every morning for 20 minutes, don’t read the newspaper, stop watching TV, eat only plant based, meditate for 20 minutes every evening or plan your next days schedule.

Start this month and then assess how it has impacted your life.

Let go of the past

It’s one of the main reasons why we can’t move on and change our lives: we refuse to let go of our past mistakes and failures.

Holding on to your past mistakes only keeps you focused on the past.

My personal advice to you

Do what you want. Not what you think you should do! Not what everyone’s telling you to do. Really listen to what’s in your heart and soul. That’s one of the most important things that I learned this year.