Be The Best You in 2020

Every year I try to make some sort of resolution that will not only benefit me, but others as well.  While I may not always stick to that resolution, my best intentions are always there.

This year I decided to take a different approach.  Instead of making a huge resolution for the year, I decided to make small resolutions each week that I can stick to.  So far, it is working out great.  One of the mini resolutions that I have been incorporating into my weekly goals, or resolutions is centered around health.  I think for the most part, that is the category of my life that I tend to slack on.

I was reading an article by Heather Matthews, a fitness and health blogger.  She made some drastic changes for the better in her life, took those changes, and decided to help others succeed the same way she did.  I admire her courage, hard work and commitment to herself.

Here are some great tips I gathered on my own and after reading her article that I feel are beneficial to making a resolution work.

Have a Plan
If you are blindly going into a commitment without a plan, you are destined to fail. You need to write down a list of what you plan to accomplish, how you plan to accomplish it, how you plan to bounce back if you slip. This is essential because it will have you prepared for pitfalls, and make you more confident to move on.

Mistakes, Slip Ups  and Setbacks 
You can’t be afraid to make a mistake, have a slip up or even a setback.  Everyone does.  The difference is whether you have the strength and mindset to pick yourself up and start over or keep moving in the right direction.  If you want to succeed you have to try.

Self Talk
Many successful people use self talk or positive talk as a way to encourage themselves to do better, be better, and believe in themselves.  I saw a video of a father who had his daughter repeat positive words about herself every morning and I said to myself, “What a great role model. This is a parent who wants what is best for his little girl and is starting at a young age to have her believe in herself and he is giving her a simple tool to do that.”  Small changes like this can have huge impacts on our self esteem and well being.

Stay Motivated 
If what you are doing isn’t motivating or satisfying you, change it up.  This can be applied to any goal, whether it be diet , exercise or anything else.  Keep yourself motivated, try a new exercise class, eat healthy foods you’ve never tried before, take that art or photography class you’ve always wanted to take.  Make yourself happy.  Let me repeat that.  Make yourself happy.

Surround Yourself With People Who Make You Succeed
We are often products of the people we surround ourselves with.  If you have fitness goals you want to stick to, grab your friend who is going to push and motivate you to get to the gym on the days you don’t feel like going, not the one who says who cares if you take a day off.  Tough love comes from people who care.  You want that friend who is brutally honest and isn’t afraid to tell you what you may not want to hear.  Those are the friends that you can count on in the long run.  Did you ever watch those shows where the contestant wanted to lose weight and wanted to give up, but had a coach behind them screaming in their ear to keep going?  At the time they were being yelled at, they hated the coach, but in the end when they reached their goal, they were thanking them for not giving up on them and for pushing them beyond their boundaries.

Reward Yourself
Always set a reward for reaching  a milestone, whatever it may be.  Rewards will help to keep you on your path to success and encourage you along the way.  Maybe you can get those cute shoes you’ve had your eye on, or plan a night out with the girls or a weekend getaway to recharge. You can even make it a simple goal of a treat you haven’t had in a long time.  Make it a reward that will benefit your goal.

I will be the first to tell you that I am far from perfect in the resolutions field .  I have good days and I have bad days, but I never give up on myself.  I have a disease that leaves me with no metabolism and that makes it hard for me to lose weight and easy for me to gain it.  I sometimes get discouraged.  I think a lot of what was making me  feel that way was the big goals I was making for myself, many of which were unrealistic. I hope this new approach will help me to succeed and I hope it will help you succeed too. Make 2020 the year you say, I achieved my goal by being the best me that I can be.