Dear Friends,
I am sitting here on a Sunday morning in October thinking and mapping out goals for 2019. I just started Rachel Hollis' #last90days challenge. I was so very inspired when I happened onto this challenge because the whole concept is so Perfect. Why wait until New Year's Eve to start working toward your goals when we can start now and blow past the new year with 3 months of momentum already under our belts! I LOVE IT!
I have already learned so many lessons the second half of 2018 about motivation, setting goals, and sticking to them. For example, I am amazing at starting things but not the best at creating a plan, following the plan, and finishing the plan.
In June, I started training for a fitness competition. It has been tough you guys, especially since I had a bit if a "let's wing it" mentality.
Even though I was worked harder at training than anything else I have done in a long time, I experienced several setbacks. Don't get me wrong I was seeing results so all of my hard work was not done in vain. However, I was not seeing the results I expected and wanted. So I started asking myself how am I working so hard and still not seeing the results that I want.
A long hard look at my behavior concluded that I was 3/4 committed and 1/4 of me was sabotaging myself on the side with a cheat meal here and missing a work out there. Those small decision seemed so inconsequential in the grand scheme but in reality THEY MATTER!
This was very eye opening for me because I could see this trend echoing throughout other areas of my life. I "wing it" A LOT! I realized that this mentality has created a lot of frustration and disappointment in my life. Equipped with my new insights I am more prepared than ever to move forward in confidence to finish 2018 strong and make 2019 the best year ever.
Here are a few of my lessons learned so far from 2018 (I'm not done yet). I hope they resonate with you and help you see where you may be going wrong in accomplishing your goals:
1. Decisions matter and add up over time. Consistency matters. It is important to treat yourself and celebrate small victories but be careful that this in not happening too frequently. Small little decisions can add up over time to sabotage your goals. Postponing a few blog posts, sneaking a few treats a week, or missing a workout here and there add up over time.
2. Don't let your emotions make your decisions. Let me say this one again...DON'T LET YOUR EMOTIONS MAKE YOUR DECISIONS. (This is a big one for me because I can be Moody with a capital M!) It can be so easy to eat that piece of cake or skip the gym when we do not FEEL like it.
3. You are capable of much more than you think! Especially when properly motivated.
I think this is true for all of us. Finding proper motivation can be a crucial piece to being successful. I had to find what motivates me and create an environment around that motivation. I do better with external accountability so I hired a coach that requires weekly check-ins. This helped me to stay more consistent and stick to my plan because I knew she would see if I wasn't sticking to the plan.
4. "Winging it" will only get you so far and it usually ends in frustration and disappointment. I perform better when I have a goal and a plan. Completing a goal requires taking steps in order to reach the goal. Without a plan you can easily start missing the step required to reach the goal.
5. Find what works. Doing a task that you do not enjoy can be demotivating but if you can find a way to achieve the same thing in a different way that works for you, you will be more likely to do it. ( For example, I do not like certain exercises but I did find other exercises that accomplish the same thing that I do enjoy so I stick to those to stay on track.)
6. The cupcake will be there next week! A few times along the way I felt like I was so deprived and would never survive without certain food. Seriously, how will I live without cupcakes!!! ....WOAH Karen, SLOW YOUR ROLL drama queen. People make cupcakes everyday. You will be just fine without a cupcake for a bit. That's what got you into this jiggly bod situation to begin with. That cupcake or one just like it will be there for you at the end of the journey.
I hope this helps you on your next journey. If you haven't already joined, hop on over to https://thechicsite.com/90days/ to sign up for the #last90days challenge. Here's to finishing the last 90 days of 2018 STRONGER than ever!
Highly motivated,
Krista