Happy happy happy New Year to you all! I soooo love this time of year! I always have a renewed sense of commitment and determination and so far this year I have to say that I am feeling on fire! Some people don't believe in New Year's Resolutions and I have to say I don't really either. What I do believe in though, is setting goals!! I am very very passionate about this and before I talk more about my process, I want to tell you why.
Once upon a time, I used to be very very very overweight. When I was very overweight, I wasn't very happy deep down inside and although I did want to do something about that, subconsciously I had some issues going on that caused me to self sabotage every time I attempted to. For a period of time my life was what I would consider a complete mess with no direction. I just kept on keeping on, doing everything I needed to do and not much else. My life was a constant merry go round of doing everything that I could for others and nothing for myself. I spent so much time doing the urgent stuff, that I didn't have time to do the important stuff. Why? There were many reasons, but one of the biggest ones was because it meant I didn't have time to focus on myself and everything I didn't like about myself and my life. Long story short - we could be here for a very long time otherwise - one day I realised that if I didn't do something about my weight, then if I was lucky enough to still be here, I would end up being alone on the couch with no life. My daughter was growing up and would be going off overseas for an undetermined length of time and I was a single mum. In that moment I decided that that wasn't the life that I wanted. I didn't want to be alone. I wanted to have someone to share my life with and I was in no shape to be sharing my life with anyone in the state I was in. I was a walking heart attack waiting to happen AND I didn't love myself, so how could I possibly love anyone else?
So what does this have to do with New Year's resolutions or goals? Well up until this point, of course every New Year I know that I "told" myself that this would be the year that I would start to release my weight, but it was only in my head. No one else knew that that was my goal. The New Year after I had decided that I needed to change my story was no different. I started the year making a silent promise to myself that this would be the year. It did feel different this time though. I went back to weight watchers and tried to follow their plan. I joined a local curves and tried to exercise there the recommended 3 sessions per week. I got to the end of that year and I had managed to lose 10kgs - which was great - however with over 100kg to lose, I knew that I needed to try to do better the next year otherwise it was going to take me 10 years or more to lose the weight and I wasn't getting any younger! So the next New Year's Day I took some time out by myself and reflected on the year gone past. What I had done. What I had achieved. What I did well and what I could improve on. Then I wrote down a list of goals for the next year. I had never actually written a list before and I thought that maybe physically writing a list might help in some way. I figured it couldn't hurt! I wrote a list of 10 things, with releasing weight at the top of the list and then I made sure that they were all SMART goals. That year I didn't get everything achieved on my list, but I DID get a LOT more achieved than I would have if I didn't go through that process. The biggest achievement of that year, was that I released 50kg. My goal for the year was 60kg, but I was definitely ok with 50!
Each and every year now I have the same process on New Year's Day, although I go a bit further these days. Now as well as making them SMART goals, on New Year's Day I pick 2-3 of the ones that are most important to me that I want to work on for the first quarter of the year, and then I write a list of actions that I need to take to achieve them. At the end of each quarter I sit down and evaluate where I am at, pick my 2-3 to work on for the next quarter, write down my action steps and off I go again. I also write down WHY I want to achieve those goals. You need to have a really powerful WHY. Your WHY - and also your why nots - are the key to everything. I'm not perfect. Things don't always happen when I plan for it to happen, but I ALWAYS get there in the end. One of the biggest lessons I have learned, is that the ONLY time we fail, is if we give up, and I NEVER give up if I really really want something. Sometimes it just takes me a lot longer to achieve it than I planned. I always learn along the way though, and I truly know that everything happens when it is meant to!
One of my biggest goals for this year is to publish my book. I finally finished it in November after starting it 3 years ago! See what I mean? I didn't plan for it to take me 3 years - I planned for it to take me 1 month initially - but I never gave up on it and I DID finally finish it! It WILL be published in the very near future. I am currently in the process of sourcing a professional editor and I also took massive action on New Year's Day and actually submitted it to 3 publishers. Whether it is picked up by one of them or whether I go down the self publishing road makes no difference to me really. I set myself the goal to write it and now I have set myself the goal of publishing it and publish it I WILL.
I don't know if you have a New Year's Resolution or goal setting process, but if you don't, I would highly recommend it! I wish for you a wildly successful and exciting 2018. My years since I released my weight have all been wonderful and this year will be no exception. I do however, absolutely know that it will be one of my best to date! I am so excited for all that it will bring and I truly wish the same for you!!
Here's to an amazing 2018!!
Shari
xoxo
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