Many of you may be thinking of all the things that went well about 2022 and the things that did not go so well. As you reevaluate your goals you may be thinking about personal goals for yourself that fell by the wayside. You never lost that 5 lbs, or got your blood work numbers where they should be. You never did that detox plan like you planned to or signed up for that gym membership. Then your mind will often wander to the reasoning behind it and it will almost always be sure to find some excuses that validate your failure. I didn't have enough time, the kids needed my attention, work was too demanding, and so on and so forth. But the fact is, there will always be things OUT of our control, an external factor that will seemingly PREVENT us from doing the things we truly WANT and NEED to do. Here are 3 mindset hacks you can carry with you in this fresh new Year of 2023.
Mindset Hack #1: INTENTIONALITY. You have to stop being passive in your goals. "Well, if it works out, if I feel like it, if the stars align at the right time, then I'll go to the gym or ill take that time for myself to relax.". No... this cannot work. When you set personal goals for yourself, and I'm talking about the ones you truly want to meet, you HAVE to be intentional. You have to tell your family, your friends, your boss or whomever it may concern that you have set your gym time or time for movement as a PRIORITY. If your boss asks you to come in early, if the church asks for help with something extra that you had not previously committed to, if a friend or family member could use your help, you MUST prioritize your time for movement over those things. You must set firm BOUNDARIES if you truly want to achieve your goals- and then comes the reward! You do not have to feel guilty for these goals because it is biblical to rest, reflect, and de-stress. When you let life get in the way and you give up your gym time so easily, you will look back at the end of the week and say, what went wrong??? You cannot allow this to happen. You will wonder why you feel so stressed and you cannot shake the way you feel when you let it slide.
This past week was the most stressful week of my life. My daughter was sick, our tenants heat broke, our car broke down and my husband and I had to continue running two businesses. Mind you this was all immediately after CHRISTMAS When my daughter was home for Christmas break-leaving us no child care, and a sick child to take care of at that. But using effective communication, my husband and I worked up a schedule for both of us to evenly share the stress load while still allowing for gym time for each of us. THAT is intentionality. I didn't think for a MINUTE that the gym time was something I would put on the back burner, not with that added stress! Now I will admit, there are absolutely times where I have to give it up, like if there's an emergency of some sort where its ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE to prioritize. But more often than not, there is a solution.
Mindset Hack #2. FOCUS. When you focus on something, your time, energy and attention go into that one thing. You don't allow distractions to get in the way. When you focus on something, you start making tiny mini goals to reach that higher goal. For ex. If your main goal is, I want to lose 5 lbs, you will think-"I need to go to the gym Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week early before work"... and... "I need to eat healthy breakfasts and dinners each day to account for a calorie deficit and to give my body rich nutrients to boost metabolism". Then the next break down of goals will be "I need to pack my gym bag the night before", or maybe "I need to get a gym bag." You then might think "I need to make a double portion of dinner tonight so that I can take leftovers to work tomorrow for lunch". Whatever that looks like for you- this is FOCUS. In fact, something genius you can do with your focus when you feel like you are losing it, is FOCUS on the benefits of the goal. This might look like "I dont want to cook tonight", but then you think " But when I eat a healthy meal I feel AMAZING." or "After a nice morning at the gym I feel like a different person, more energy, better mood, more effective at work, and nicer to my family".
Mindset Hack #3. Set SMART goals. Make sure your goals are smart, that is, Specific, Measurable, Achievable and Realistic. A specific goal looks like "I want to drop a pant size and lower my HBA1C by 1.5%." or "I want to lower my cholesterol by 50 points and lose 10 pounds. Some not so specific goals are "I want to feel better". or "I want to lose weight". Those are not specific enough because you won't know when you have succeeded since those things fluctuate all the time.
You want to make sure your goals is measurable. When you lose weight, you can measure it on a scale. When you improve bloodwork numbers, you can see it on the report.. When you improve your energy and mood- you can say "On a scale of 1 to 10, my mood is a 10 most days whereas before it was more like a 2 or 3". Some things that are not measurable are- "I want to become more aware of what Im eating", or "I want to generally eat healthier". "I want to get in better shape". What do those things all even mean to you? They are not measurable in the way those statements were made.
If your goals are not achievable and realistic then they are not reachable and its silly to even try to accomplish them. This Is where education comes in. Many people I work with believe it or not think that they can treat everything under the sun and reverse every disease with natural remedies. They think they can reverse Hashimoto's thyroiditis and go off their Thyroxine medication. They think they can treat a sinus infection with eating lots of garlic for 4 weeks and they avoid the doctors office. They think they can beat stage 4 cancer by eating fruits and veggies. The worst thing you can do is assume that you can fix any problem with diet DOWN THE ROAD. No. Prevention is ALWAYS key, and there is ABSOLUTELY a place for medicine where needed. I've had a client tell me they healed their Arthritis by eating cabbage for a few days. I have really heard it all. The fact is, you have to look at your goals and figure out if they are achievable. You should not have a goal of "I want to lose 30 pounds in a month" or "I want to lose 100 pounds in 6 months." NO. Losing weight too fast is detrimental to your health. You should never aim to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week steadily at any time. Another reason why too fast of weight loss is no bueno is because it's often not sustainable. You will end up suffering nutrient deficiencies and stress that your body should not have to endure. Often your biological drive to eat will take over and you will gain it all back and then some, another risk factor for Chronic disease and even sudden death.
Lastly, your goal must be timely. If you never put a time Frame on it, it won't happen. When I say time frame, I don't mean "In the spring, summer or fall", or "After the holidays", or "Some time this year", or "when im less busy at work, or "When Im less stressed". These are called excuses my friend. There will always be a better time to make a change. ALWAYS. There is never a PERFECT time. Also, you dont want to give yourself TOO much time for something, or not enough. All things to think through.
I am rooting for you my friend! I hope that you can make 2023 the year of CHANGE!
Also, if you want someone to cheer you on through this and help you sort through your goals- and to help you achieve them this year, please set up a 20 min. Strategy session to go over your health issues, concerns and goals so that we can team up and see how we might be able to work together. I offer nutritional counseling, meal planning, and ongoing wellness support to clients whom I work with regarding health. This appt can also be carried out through a Telehealth call or zoom.
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