Dr.'s Blog

Ah yes… New Year and your new resolutions.

Many find the New Year a refreshing chance to set new visions, cast new goals, and venture into a fresh new year; leaving behind all unwanted and unnecessary life baggage.

For others, it’s cringeworthy.

The thought of a new goal, just because the calendar flipped over another month, and they now have to remember to write a different year when dating things… it’s just obnoxious.

Regardless if it’s at the stroke of midnight on Jan 1, or a week later, WHY NOT set out to make 2022 your best year yet? (I’d love to hear a good argument against it!)

Heck, most of us just need a complete reboot after the holidays!

Maybe you’re uber driven by goals that you set, and will not stop at anything until you hit those goals. Or, you’re really like setting goals, but like to take it a little slower and just… see how the cards fall. We all operate differently, but changing your mindset around how you set visions and goals, and then your action steps to carry those out, can make a massive difference in your success.

Let’s dive into some easy ways to jumpstart your new year, into your best year yet!

Pick ONE thing

& Get Clear

First, and foremost; you will want to dig DEEP to find what you truly want. I mean what you REALLY want. Even if it means going to great lengths to get it. Making sacrifices you wouldn’t for other things. And once you get there… does envisioning that accomplishment truly MOVE you? Is it something that you would feel proud about? These are good signs that you’re on the right track. Get a CLEAR vision of that. What’s the process like? What’s it going to take to get there? Of course there will be obstacles, but how will you persevere and enjoy the process? What small steps can you claim victory over along the way? (Yes, every one of these steps can be seen as a goal, and an accomplishment! As most good things in life are a process and take time;)

Got it? Good! Lock it in.

Now, write that down. Somewhere where you will see it. Everyday.

Of course there are a million things you could, and think you should try to tackle at once. But you will be shooting yourself in the foot after about a week. Most of us are stretched thin the way it is with everything else in life. Adding on additional ‘stressors’ will only make your brain revert back to comfort mode even quicker. Because, let’s be real, any lifestyle change requires us to get outside of our comfort zone. Human nature doesn’t like change. It will resist it, and that’s why persistency is key, along with a rock-solid mindset.

Yes, it’s good to open up your conscious and subconscious mind to many things that you want, and progressively work towards them. Your relationships, career, family, health, hobbies, materialistic goods, etc SHOULD get your energy and focus to some degree. It is possible to address all of these dynamics, but for the sake of the New Year and getting the best start possible… lets CRUSH one thing in particular that you know will have an impact on most or all of these other aspects anyway.

Action Step:

Your 2022 GRAND VISION: _________________________________________________

Plan

Don’t skimp here! All great visions, and all great goals DESERVE time and effort. You’re cheating yourself of your potential by skipping this essential step.

Questions to think, and more importantly, write down an answer these:

• What is it that you want to accomplish?
• WHY?
• How will it impact your life?
• Who else will it impact?
• Break it down: What’s the first action step? When will you start (no matter what!)? What steps along the way will get you to where you want to be?
• What obstacles will you hit? How will to crush those and persevere?
• What happens when the excitement and motivation trickle away… what will you anchor to in order to keep driving forward?
• How are you going to measure progress?
• How will you react to opposition, set backs, and ‘failure’? (hint… there is no such thing as failure 😉
• What does your timeline look like? When will you have specific things done by/a set routine down/etc?

Action Step:

Yes, physically write out your answers to the above 🙂

Start with Small Steps

When in doubt…

JUST START

The only one getting in your way is the 3 pound slimey mass between your ears.

It doesn’t have to be drastic.

But procrastination will drown those dreams, and make it entirely impossible to start later.

Is exercising part of your plan, but you haven’t exercised since middle school gym class and don’t know where to start? Whelp, just start walking. Or biking. Or doing some push ups. Some squats. Just… something. Everyday. Get use to making these a part of who you are and what you do, and not just something you think you should do.

Know you should address your diet? Start by drinking more water. Make an oath to make 90% of your own meals, cut out all processed foods, reduce sugar intake as close to zero as possible, reduce simple carbohydrates, and just load up your plate with veggies/healthy fats/healthy proteins. Do that for 4 weeks and see where you end up!

Action Step:

• How will you just start?

• What are your next 2 steps after that to improve/reach the next level?

every process

takes time

This is an easy principle to miss when you’re frustrated and beat down. When you’re not getting the results you would like, it’s easy to let the excuses flood in, and the justifications flow out.

Just remember… EVERYTHING good, takes time.

Nothing happens overnight. Your career, your health, your relationships, raising happy/healthy kids… you name it. There are no miracle short cuts to producing lifelong results.

Action Step:

• What is one thing that took time… but was well worth it?

• Realistically, what do the timeline of your goal look like?

Embrace it

It’s in the process, that we discover our weaknesses. We struggle. We fail.

Good.

That’s where growth happens.

What you gain from those moments are priceless opportunities to grow stronger and more resilient. The next time a situation comes around, you’ll conquer it.

Action Step:

• List a time when you were struck down with ‘failure’… and turned it around into something positive? Where you came back, better than ever?

• Yes, this is going to be a process, and yes, you’re going to encounter difficult moments… How are you going to recognize those moments, and how will you utilize them to your advantage?

Surround yourself

with those, who will help you grow

Have you heard of the old saying, “You’re the average of the 5 people you surround yourself by”?

Yep, happens to be true.

I’m not saying you have to go out and dump your friends who are questionable when it comes to making you a better person. They’re probably in your life for a purpose… but be intentional about finding 1 or 2 people that you can truly rely on to hold you accountable, and can be REAL with you in the moments you need it most. When you want to quit, they’re there to remind you why you started in the first place. When you want to cheat… they’re there to slap your hand and set you straight… with love of course.

Give them heartfelt synopsis of what you’re trying to accomplish, and why. If they care about you, they will be there for you.

You can also find a community with similar goals. Want to hammer your fitness goals hard? Join a gym that does group fitness. There are Facebook groups for everything now. Ask around, you’ll be surprised by what you find, and chances are, there are countless people such as yourself looking for others to dive into a particular interest or goal with.

Action Step:

• Who is your accountability person(s)?
• Who is part of your tribe?
• Who do you need to be… careful around?

Take charge &

Be Resourceful

In this day and age… it’s hard to claim ignorance with most areas of self-improvement. Just like you can use YouTube to learn how to fix ANYTHING… there are endless resources to help you to continue to progress in the best direction possible.

Focused on improving your mindset, spiritual life, and overall mental fortitude? Go to the bookstore, spend 30 minutes sifting through sections that interest you, buy 2 books, and get after it. Find a few podcasts on the subject. Instead of watching your typical Netflix series, find a documentary. (This process could apply to many/most things – the resources are out there! You just gotta search for them). Engage in a meaningful conversation. Seek out others and learn from them. Keep an open mind, and question everything (in a healthy way;) Sure, it takes a little effort to do all of this… but where will you be in 6 months if you stick to it? 1 year? 5 years from now? Where were you 5 years ago? 5 years sounds like a long time.. but looking back 5 years sure makes time seem fast.

Every successful professional, athlete, and everyone in between has a coach and is in an endless pursuit to be the best. Exhausting every resource possible. You are not an exception. Now, you don’t have to go to the same lengths, but, you can exponentially improve your success and the pace that you get there with the right resources.

There are people out there that have spent their lives figuring out exactly what you’re trying to accomplish. They’ve hit many of the same roadblocks. Persevered through things that maybe your stuck on. You can get that insight… for free. Or, basically free. It’s worth taking a little extra time to find these resources. No one is an expert starting out, so don’t pretend to be. Humility and vulnerability is part of the process. Proficiency, results, expertise, and everything else will follow.

Action Step:

• Find 2 resources, TODAY, to help you along your journey.
• Then actually USE them!!

[Jan.. feb.. March]

Keep going

By March, most people have already given up on their goals.

Not you.

You have a bigger purpose. You know this is going to take time. You’ve already tallied up some smaller victories and are on your way to the next. You’re a different person than you were when you started in January. You’ve probably made some sacrifices, maybe lost some friends along the way, maybe annoyed some people; just extra baggage that you didn’t need hanging around in the first place. You’re on your way to stepping into your potential. Actually, you already have. You’re becoming the person God called you to be, and no one can take that away from you. It’s your path, your journey, and you should be freaking proud of what you’ve overcome to get where you are. Of course you hit some pot holes…or massive craters… along the way. But, YOU are the captain of this ship, no tide or storm can sway you off track. Every set back, has just prepared you for a better come back.

2022 could be…. nope.

2022 will be…. closer…

2022 IS my BEST YEAR YET. –> YES

Manifest your best year yet into existence. You deserve it. Your family deserves it. This world deserves to have you at your best. And it starts NOW.