Happy New Year!
I've read a lot of posts in the last few weeks about how resolutions aren't good to make on new years because people always break them. Kind of like how the gym is always busy the first couple weeks of January but then goes back to normal by February 1st because a lot of people have fallen off the bandwagon.
I guess that's kind of true, but I think it depends on your perseverance and how much you want to achieve your goals. I truly believe that you can accomplish any reasonable goal that you put your mind to. Resolutions are no different. It's one thing to say you're going to eat healthy and get fit, but unless you actually do it they are just words.
I've been really pondering possible resolutions in the last few weeks. I want them to be realistic and achievable, but the same time it's so hard to plan sometimes when I know my life is going to change dramatically in the next couple months with the birth of our first child. My beautiful Stella & Dot mentor and leader Stacy posted an very interesting article in one of our Facebook groups the other day called "An Almost Foolproof Way to Achieve Every Goal You Set" which I encourage you to read. One line that really stands out at me is the following:
"When you're working toward a goal, you're essentially saying, "I'm not good enough yet... but I will be when I reach my goal."
What do you think? It's certainly an interesting way of putting it. I know that if I make goals and I don't succeed, I get pretty bummed out about it and sometimes even feel like a bit of a failure which is not a good thing. This article talks about the work leading up to the goal, and if you continue to focus on that work (named "systems" in the article) that you will likely be more successful than focusing on the goal itself. I actually like this approach. The more effort you put in, the more it will show, and the more you will succeed.
I've noticed since I've become pregnant that I haven't been as eating as healthy as I could be. Some of it's due to pure laziness, some of it's to random cravings, and some is because some days (to be brutally honest) I just don't care. This isn't to say that I've been eating junk food and crap most of the time, but I'm definitely eating more than I was. I'd like to change that. I'm still reading labels when I go to the grocery store, but I'm still finding more processed food turn up in my pantry (example, I currently have alphaghettis, hamburger helper and organic Mac n Cheese on hand). Knowing that the closer we get to baby time I'm going to get more tired and less likely to want to cook, my plans to work towards the goal of eating healthier this year are to prepare a ton of pre-made meals from scratch and fill up my freezer! This way when I'm too tired or forget to take meat out in the morning, I can throw a bagged freezer meal in a casserole dish or a pot and make a healthy meal with a small amount of work. Knowing this will hopefully help to eat out less and lose the 30+ pounds I've gained since becoming pregnant.
I also always make the goal to keep active during the year. I love running so much and actually miss it when I can't do it for long periods of time. I did set a goal of running a half marathon this year after the baby, and the race is in October. I know that no matter what my time, I WILL finish that race. I'm not looking for a personal best (although if I can train up to that point it would be a huge bonus) but I want to finish. We purchased a jogging stroller that holds the car seat and I'm looking forward to starting out walking and then eventually jogging when I'm ready and be able to take the baby with me (or for the longer runs, dropping the little guy off at Nonna's who conveniently happens to live in the river valley). This is my motivation and I'm hoping it will help my progress to the end goal of running that half marathon in October. On a side note, the article mentions that some people who run half marathons stop training when they run one. I feel the opposite! Every time I run one I get motivated to run another one and find another city to explore!
Lastly I want to grow my Stella & Dot business. Every year I attend our national sales conference I get more and more motivated to reach for the stars. This year will be the start of year #3 and I'm more motivated than ever to meet new people, grow my team, share the Stella & Dot love and make some extra money for my vacation addiction/problem (hehe) and the new baby! I barely even know what direct sales was when I started but I'm so pumped that I jumped in and tried something new that I knew nothing about. I've learned so much and have replaced the income of a part time job working way less hours!
I'm pretty pumped about 2015. What about you?
xo
-Dianne
"When you're working toward a goal, you're essentially saying, "I'm not good enough yet... but I will be when I reach my goal."
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| Being part of the 2012 Olympics (as a volunteer) is now checked off my bucket list! |
What do you think? It's certainly an interesting way of putting it. I know that if I make goals and I don't succeed, I get pretty bummed out about it and sometimes even feel like a bit of a failure which is not a good thing. This article talks about the work leading up to the goal, and if you continue to focus on that work (named "systems" in the article) that you will likely be more successful than focusing on the goal itself. I actually like this approach. The more effort you put in, the more it will show, and the more you will succeed.
I've noticed since I've become pregnant that I haven't been as eating as healthy as I could be. Some of it's due to pure laziness, some of it's to random cravings, and some is because some days (to be brutally honest) I just don't care. This isn't to say that I've been eating junk food and crap most of the time, but I'm definitely eating more than I was. I'd like to change that. I'm still reading labels when I go to the grocery store, but I'm still finding more processed food turn up in my pantry (example, I currently have alphaghettis, hamburger helper and organic Mac n Cheese on hand). Knowing that the closer we get to baby time I'm going to get more tired and less likely to want to cook, my plans to work towards the goal of eating healthier this year are to prepare a ton of pre-made meals from scratch and fill up my freezer! This way when I'm too tired or forget to take meat out in the morning, I can throw a bagged freezer meal in a casserole dish or a pot and make a healthy meal with a small amount of work. Knowing this will hopefully help to eat out less and lose the 30+ pounds I've gained since becoming pregnant.
I also always make the goal to keep active during the year. I love running so much and actually miss it when I can't do it for long periods of time. I did set a goal of running a half marathon this year after the baby, and the race is in October. I know that no matter what my time, I WILL finish that race. I'm not looking for a personal best (although if I can train up to that point it would be a huge bonus) but I want to finish. We purchased a jogging stroller that holds the car seat and I'm looking forward to starting out walking and then eventually jogging when I'm ready and be able to take the baby with me (or for the longer runs, dropping the little guy off at Nonna's who conveniently happens to live in the river valley). This is my motivation and I'm hoping it will help my progress to the end goal of running that half marathon in October. On a side note, the article mentions that some people who run half marathons stop training when they run one. I feel the opposite! Every time I run one I get motivated to run another one and find another city to explore!
Lastly I want to grow my Stella & Dot business. Every year I attend our national sales conference I get more and more motivated to reach for the stars. This year will be the start of year #3 and I'm more motivated than ever to meet new people, grow my team, share the Stella & Dot love and make some extra money for my vacation addiction/problem (hehe) and the new baby! I barely even know what direct sales was when I started but I'm so pumped that I jumped in and tried something new that I knew nothing about. I've learned so much and have replaced the income of a part time job working way less hours!
I'm pretty pumped about 2015. What about you?
xo
-Dianne
