Make 2016 Your Best Year Ever

We are one month into 2016 and only a bit over a month ago, you made your resolutions and decided that THIS is going to be your year. You started with the best of intentions, but now it’s February and you haven’t hit those New Year’s resolutions (or the gym) with the vigour you intended. Don’t worry, you’re not alone, statistically less than 10% of people achieve their New Year’s resolutions.  With that in mind, today I want to talk about goal setting -  why so many people fail at it and the secrets behind success.
 
Success begins with dreaming big, but setting small, achievable goals with a time frame to them. The key is always keeping your motivation in mind whilst celebrating the small wins along the way. In general it’s easier to abandon goals that may seem too big to difficult to attain, it’s easy to get stuck.
 
 
So get unstuck! Here are a few steps:

1. Know what you want!  What does your ideal lifestyle look like?  What do you want for your family, relationships, career, health, fitness, finances and personal development?  You can’t achieve it until you know exactly what you want and how you want it!  Write a list of create a Pinterest moodboard – figure out what your dream life is and having fun creating it! 
2. Assess where you are at in each aspect of your life – how close to your ideal are you? Think about what exactly needs to shift in your life to create it. 
3. Once you know what you need to change, create a workable plan to integrate small steps to your goal into your life.  If you want to lose weight start parking your car at the far end of the shopping centre (more walking!), if you want to save money create a budget and start making instead of buying your lunch!  Do whatever you need to do to create a lifestyle not just momentary changes to achieve a goal. 
4. Start with one area – it’s easy to lose focus when you have too many things on at once.  Make a list of all the changes that need to be made – work through them.  Achieve satisfaction in one area, celebrate and move onto the next! 
5. Remember that life is a journey, each day is important. Also remember that each day is a new start, if you hit an obstacle, don’t be hard on yourself, pick yourself back up and keep tracking forward!
6. Always remember your WHY!  Our WHY will keep us tracking towards our goals, it’s our motivation.  My WHY is my kids, their beautiful smiles and wonderful energy. I am motivated to be the best me I can be I can be to create the best life I can for them and help them to help them grow into healthy, happy well-adjusted humans.

In Practice:
Sarah’s Dream: I want my old body back
 
What is your goal?
I want to lose 15kg, fit back into my size 10 jeans, walk into shops and be confident to try on clothes and feel amazing in them.  I want to get those looks from my husband again, I want to have the energy to play with my kids, I want to feel alive! I want to feel confident, healthy and amazing.
 
Where are you at now? (Be honest with yourself)
I am 20kgs over weight, I feel disgusting in my clothes, I don’t feel confident to go out with my friends, I cry when I try on clothes in the shops, I feel like I do not even know myself anymore, my husband doesn’t think I am sexy, my kids ask me to play and I don’t have any energy, so I avoid it.
 
What is your WHY, get really clear on what is important and why it is important to you!
I want to set an example for my kids, I want to be around for my kids, I don’t want to become like my Mum who was overweight and unhealthy and never played, I want to feel like me.
 
What needs to change in my life to get to my dream?

• I need to make time to exercise
• I need to stop eating junk food
• I need to prepare myself meals
• I need to stop finishing the kids food scraps.
• I  need to prioritize myself
• I need commitment
• I need help with my exercise and food, I need support
• I need to plan my meals
• I decrease my alcohol & soft drinks consumption

 
Create one SMART (Specific Measureable Attainable Relevant Time-bound) goal to help you achieve your dream
1.   Lose 4 Kilos by the 4th of March
 
List 3 actions you will take to achieve this goal

1. Exercise 5 days a week for the next 30 days
2. Plan my meals and snacks weekly and do the groceries for the meal plan every week this month
3. Cut down from 3 soft-drinks a day to 1 every second day for the next 30 days. Replace the soft drinks with water. 

Get an accountability buddy - Make your goals public and enlist the support of a friend or group to help support you on your journey. You can do this!
 
Check in with yourself daily- Keep a diary and list the things that went well and the things you could improve tomorrow. Keep tracking forward, tomorrow is a new day.
 
Now we have a very specific goal and some very specific action items to help us achieve your goal, you have daily accountability and each day you celebrate the small wins. In 30 days you will get to your goal!

If you need help setting goals, you need a good support system, or need help with nailing your health and fitness goals, Active Mum would love to help you. We have built a business around helping Mums get to their goals. We are all about empowering mums to be the most amazing women they can be. We have built our programs to give women a complete solution to help them look and feel their best. Click here to request a complementary a consultation.

Book into our event Make 2016 Your Best Year Ever here

We will be holding exercise sessions, then Chef Elle Vernon from Better Homes & Gardens will show us how to cook a healthy lunch and we’ll enjoy it together.

 I hope this blog helps give you the tools to go and start living your best life.

 Yours in health & fitness,
 Julie