Still scrambling to keep up with the whole “New Year, New You” thing?

How many blogs, articles, or workshops have you tried that promised you would become the best version of yourself with their easy 5-step program? You probably felt excited and hopeful at first, but then life got in the way. After missing a week or two, you began to doubt yourself and felt deflated, ending up right where you started.

It’s important to know that feeling overwhelmed is normal, and you’re not alone. The people offering these courses often don’t share how many times they failed before succeeding. What you see can make it seem easy, leading you to wonder why you can’t do it too.

As a Health Coach, I help others reach their goals, but I also make mistakes. I know when to take on new challenges and when to stick to my strengths. Missing my own goals helps me relate to others. I prefer to learn from someone who’s been through it and is open about their experiences.

I know that the only way to achieve something different is to change what I’m currently doing. Yes, I understand this isn’t neuroscience, but it is hard. Our brains are wired to make day-to-day routines easy and abbreviated. Doing something different initially takes more time, thought, and grit at times to adhere to it.

The first step is to IDENTIFY what you want. This clarity serves as a guiding star, illuminating the path forward and helping you navigate the complexities of change with confidence. By reflecting on your desires, you can understand the motivations that drive you, allowing you to set focused goals that align with your values. This process empowers you to create a strategic plan for your journey and equips you with resilience to face challenges. Embracing this clarity ensures that each decision aligns with your vision, fostering fulfillment as you progress towards your objectives and enabling adaptability when unexpected opportunities or obstacles arise.

To achieve your goals effectively, it is essential to establish clear and thoughtful BOUNDARIES that guide your daily decisions and interactions. Start by setting a consistent bedtime of 10 o’clock, which will not only help you get adequate rest but also improve your overall focus and productivity during the day. Additionally, consider reducing the frequency of dining out, as this can not only save you money but also enable you to make healthier food choices that align with your objectives. Furthermore, take the opportunity to evaluate your friendships based on how they positively or negatively impact your self-esteem and mental well-being. Surrounding yourself with supportive and uplifting individuals will reinforce your commitment to your goals and empower you to stay on track towards achieving them.

Sounds easy, right?   Oh yeah and then there is the process of getting it into practice, making it a new habit, creating new neuropathways in the brain.  It’s a try it out, reconfigure, try it again type process, until you find the groove that works best for you and sticks so it becomes a rinse and repeat process.

That’s why I recommend a coach, someone to help you navigate

It all has to Start Somewhere

Sharing truths to help others, why, because for the first time in a long I felt like I finally get it. Life is hard!

We all have had our life lessons whether big or small that change us. They make us rethink things and do things differently the next time.

I’ve been in my share of “bad” relationships with little communication and lots of control and many old beliefs that I was following unknowingly. I eventually felt like I no longer knew who I was.

It’s said that people stay in bad relationships because they know what to expect, and anything outside of that unknown is terrifying.

I get it, and I’m thankful I’ve had healthy relationships since. But that doesn’t mean that they were perfect or lasted.

One of the hardest, most humbling things I’ve ever done was to end my first marriage after 8.5 years together. When I left that relationship I also lost a (step)son. I felt like I had lost myself. I was an over glorified house keeper/cook and errand and laundry maid. I felt overwhelmed, frustrated and under appreciated.

When I left, I shutdown. I felt like a quitter and it totally sucked. I didn’t believe in divorce, but I couldn’t see a way to unhear and undo all the things that tore the relationship apart.

Several months later, life was quieter. I spent lots of time with a dear friend who had cancer, I got a rescue pup and I started to live life again.

My whole belief of having to have everything together all the time and put on a brave face was over. I could be human and okay. I felt broken, with all my cracks showing to everyone, it was terrifying and freeing.

Why do I share this? Because I know there is someone out there that is experiencing something similar, they have been made to believe that they are small and powerless and they have had enough, but there is fear about what is next.

Surround yourself with a community of kind, loving people that see you for who you are. Set up boundaries for yourself to keep yourself from going back and repeating same mistakes and learn to love yourself first