This is YOUR year! No really, it is. This is the year you will honor those goals or intentions you set at the beginning of January. This is the year you will position yourself for success and take back your health, wellbeing, and life. We have more control over our lives than we often realize. Too often we get bogged down by whatever the media tells us we need, or we get caught up in focusing on what we don’t have. Well, the truth is that everything you need to be happy already exists within you already!
The beginning of the year witnesses gym memberships skyrocketing, people planning new diets, and all sorts of lofty goals. Sometimes, however, we get discouraged; by about the third week of January, most people have already given up on their New Year’s resolutions, are feeling defeated, and won’t try again until the start of another year. Here at YogaClub, we want you to succeed! Here are a few ideas to help motivate and guide you to successfully maintain and achieve the goals you set for yourself this year.
Be Specific, Clear, and Realistic
Write out some specific goals that you want to achieve for the year. You’ll want to be clear enough that you can see and start to feel what it will be like to achieve that goal intention. Be realistic about what you can accomplish; remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. Start with something simple and clear. When you’ve crushed that, move onto something a bit more challenging. There is no rule that says it has to take you a year to accomplish your goal, or that you have to wait until New Year’s Day to set new intentions. You can make them everyday, so be kind to yourself in the process and be honest about dreaming big.
Write Them Down & Post Them Up
Use post-it notes, fancy paper, your journal, or whatever works best for you, and write down your goals for the year. The act of writing them down helps engrain them in your mind. By taking the time and energy to write them out you are making a statement to the Universe that you fully intend to follow through and do your best to see these goals through to fruition. After you’ve written down your goals, post them in places where you’ll see them often. Put a list in your bedroom, your bathroom, the sun visor in your car, keep a list in your purse or wallet, anywhere that you’ll see it! These constant reminders will help you when you are feeling unmotivated or in need of a reminder about why you are going to the gym at 5am.
Enlist a Buddy & Share
Have a friend or family member be part of the goals. Ask your partner or BFF to participate with you. The accountability will help keep you on track. Having a buddy will also help motivate you and will increase the the chances of you both succeeding. Make your goals part of your conversations, sharing them with friends and family, or your social media community. It will keep you driven and your efforts will more-than-likely inspire someone else along the way!
Watch Your Thoughts
This is perhaps the most important of the steps and the one that we tend to push off to the side. Our ability to think, create, and rationalize is what makes us human. Our mind is a powerful tool but many of us don’t put it to work like we should. Can you think of the last thought you had about yourself or your situation? Was it positive or negative? No judgement either way, just observe and acknowledge. Let’s say your last thought was a negative one, maybe about how you put off going to the gym the last few days and how you are failing at your goals. Instead of dwelling on what is in the past, let’s reframe this situation to be a positive one where you give yourself the opportunity to approach your goal fresh and relaxed because everyone deserves time off. Your thoughts and how you talk to yourself have so much impact on your daily life. The best part is we have control over this; YOU have the power to choose what you think.
So this year choose YOU. Choose to think positively about your wellness and how you will succeed at maintaining the goals you set for yourself. Like anything this is a process that takes practice and work but you can do it!
About the Author
Clarissa is a E-RYT® 200, RYT® 500, YACEP® teaching weekly classes in the Quad Cities IL/IA since 2014. She also travels extensively presenting workshops, presentations around the country and leading international retreats. She teaches what might be considered Vinyasa style classes mostly but loves instructing beginners and teaching new innovative flows. After a decade as a student Clarissa enjoys sharing what she has learned, helping her students shape their future through yoga and movement. She has had a dedicated Ashtanga practice for 4+ years that has fueled her desire to learn and share the power of yoga with as many people as she can! She loves being a YogaClub Tribe leader and her favorite YogaClub brands include Teeki, NUX, and Free People!
