Thoughts on achieving your 2020 resolutions!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Can you believe we are in 2020? It wasn't that long ago that I thought the year 2020 sounded futuristic.

Being the first of the first in a NEW DECADE, I thought I would share with you some of my thoughts on resolutions. Personally I love them, the feeling I have in a new year is fresh and expansive. I feel excited for the opportunities ahead, like I have a clean slate to create from.

In saying that however, every year I set some very undefined resolutions, that never eventuate into anything. I can't tell you the number of times I have said, "this year, I am going to lose weight!" only to be the exact same weight 12 months later.

This year, I spent some time researching goals, and how people actually follow through and achieve them. What I realised is that the key to achieving any resolution or goal, is to get really specific about the steps that are needed to achieve it, and these small steps need to become your resolutions.

For example, year after year, people say that they would like to lose to weight (like me). Of course, nothing ever happens, because there was no plan to achieve that resolution. This year when setting that resolution, you would start by having an overarching goal I.e. "I want to lose weight", and then define specifically what you are going to do to achieve it. These habits and practices are now your resolutions. Get super intentional and gritty about sticking to the habits. Muster up the resolve to follow through on all the smaller steps, and before you know it, you will achieve your main resolution.

This year, one of my resolutions is to be the healthiest I have ever been. Below I will outline all the smaller steps, and the things I am actually going to focus on, in order to achieve my goal.

1. Sleep more, by going to bed by 10pm.
2. Lift weights a minimum of three times per week.
3. Do intense cardio workouts a minimum of two times per week.
4. No snacking in between meals.
5. No junk food. No chocolates, no chips, no crap.
6. Meditate at least five times per week.
7. Wake up earlier to set my intentions for the day.
8. Stretch a minimum of five times per week.
9. Eat smaller portions, and only when hungry.
10. Less phone usage, and less social media.

Those steps are what I will put my effort into, and each one is in itself a resolution that I will do my best to stick with. By the end of 2020 I should achieve my resolution of being the healthiest I have ever been, because I stuck with each of the habits outlined above.

A few things to note…

• Being specific is key. When you set the intention to go to bed earlier, what does that mean? One hour earlier or ten minutes earlier? Get specific, so your brain doesn’t try to talk you out of it.
• Read your goals everyday, and get in tune with the feeling that you are going to achieve them. If you don't believe that you can lose weight, it won't be long before you cave and finish off your kids ice-cream.. and oh, now you have messed up, may as well finish the tub… You get the picture. I have my goals stuck to my shower door, so I literally read them while I shower.
• Make it easier for yourself. Set yourself up for success by doing things like removing the junk food from the house, laying out your workout clothes the night before, or by setting alarms to remind you to do things.
• If it works for you, track your commitment. This year I have a calendar stuck by my desk, and every time I successfully complete a week meeting all of my goals, I get to put a big tick through it. Seeing those ticks collect can be incredibly motivating.

Here are some of my other resolutions for 2020:

• Save more, which I will achieve by having a specific dollar amount that I will move into savings each week.
• Grow my business, which I will do through specific and targeted marketing strategies.
• Swear less.

 If you have a resolution, consider what habits you need to adopt to achieve that resolution, and then turn each habit into it's own little resolution that you are committed to following through on.

Also don't feel that your resolution needs to be grandiose. The New Year feels like a wonderful new slate, but sometimes you will have more success if you set smaller goals for yourself. When they are smaller and require less effort, you are more likely to achieve them. The beauty of this is that with every win, you will build your confidence in your own ability to achieve goals that you set for yourself.

One of my friends bought herself a keep cup, and her resolution was to only order takeaway coffee in her keep cup. It was small, and achievable, and she did it. After one year of sticking to her resolution, it is now a habit that is engrained in her. She had to be intentional, but it required minimal effort.

Another friend made the resolution of packing their lunch to work everyday. By the end of 2019 he successfully achieved that. He said he succeeded because he planned for it. He would make his lunches for the entire week in one go, and freeze them for the week ahead. He also didn’t allow for variety, so there was no choice involved.

Maybe your goal could be as small as using your own shopping bag at the grocery store, or as large as starting a business. Either way, break it down into small and easy actionable steps, and get intentional about sticking to them. Treat the small steps like resolutions in and of themselves. By repeatedly meeting them, you will be closer to your original resolution before you know it!

Let me know what your resolutions are, I hope your 2020 is absolutely magical!

Love Coco xx