How to Tackle Your New Year Goals, One Step at a Time

A brand new year… Take advantage of that new year positive momentum, and take small steps that can make a huge impact.

New Year’s resolutions are very popular but too often they lose steam quickly and we end up in our same old patterns, waiting for the next year to give self-improvement another shot.

How do we avoid this? I suggest: start small.

I like to think about making personal changes like building a fire.

• You have to start small with kindling that is easy to burn before we can add the more substantial logs.

• Think about adding healthy habits one at a time and when those new habits become part of your routine, you can add another small stick.
• With patience and consistency, you will end up with this burning fire inside yourself that is ready to tackle larger logs, and trees!!

This is a personal journey that lasts a lifetime and every single person is a work in progress. 

Stay present

With technology on the rise and devices at our fingertips, it is harder than ever to stay in the moment. To tackle this, I looked for the low hanging fruit. What pulls me out of the moment the most? My phone. Most of us use this device to be more efficient, cut down on office time, and stay connected to friends and family, so it’s arguably a necessary evil… but not all of it is necessary.

This New Year I am removing unnecessary apps that I seem to open out of habit, such as social media. I think social media is a great way to stay in contact with friends, but often times I end up randomly scrolling through for no real reason, which pulls me from the moment. I don’t plan on this to be a forever change bur I do want to take a break for a while and limit my usage on my return.

With all this new free time (from not staring at my phone) I am learning to meditate. Myself and a few friends challenged ourselves with 10 minutes of meditation a day for 30 days. I tell you, with our minds spinning a million miles a minute, it sure feels wonderful to stop for a moment and just focus on your breath (this habit might have to become permanent).

Hydrate

As a trainer in a gym nutrition comes up all the time, and I always start with the simple one…. WATER!!! Again, low hanging fruit.

They say 75 percent of Americans are dehydrated which is linked to fatigue, memory loss, feeling foggy, slower metabolism, kidney stones, the list goes on…

So it’s a no brainer!!!

My suggestion is to start your day off on the right foot. First thing in the morning (even before coffee) have a big glass of water and enjoy its amazing benefits like fueling your brain, lubricating your joints, and boosting your immune system. So go grab a glass of water, and let’s continue :)

Get Outside

Now that I feel more present and am all jacked up on water, all I really want to do is get outside. But I would have to be living in a bubble to not realize that our wonderful OUTSIDE is in trouble.

Like most of you, I try to do what I can to lessen my impact on the environment. I drive a high gas mileage vehicle (that might balance out my guilty motorsports pleasures), try to remember my reusable grocery bags, limit long showers, and am even looking into solar power options for my home and eventually my vehicles…But, I’ve been wanting to try something else.

I recently watched a Netflix documentary called The Game Changer that was recommended by a friend. It is about switching to a plant-based diet for many reasons. In all honesty, as a person who has always believed and taught that animal protein is the BEST for muscle recovery and building muscle, I was very skeptical. However, the meat industry is such a big burden on our environment so I wanted to at least give it a shot.

I started with a one week plant-based challenge with my wife. We both noticed little to no difference in how we performed or felt, and neither of us really craved or missed meat so we decided to continue. For a couple of months now we have primarily been fueling ourselves with plants and whole foods.

Neither of us has noticed anything negative about our strength, recovery, or performance and many people say that removing meat from your diet is the single best way to reduce your environmental impact. I am not telling everyone to run out and go vegan… I just wanted to share a couple of things I am personally working on.

Need inspiration? Here’s a plant-based meal I love: Spaghetti Squash with Chickpeas and Kale.

We all have different goals and different reasons why, but today is a great day to start building that fire inside yourself. As that fire heats up, keep that momentum alive and throw another log on. Every day is an opportunity to better ourselves even if it’s by the smallest twig. Don’t get discouraged, there will be rainy days that almost put your fire out. But the embers are always there.

What are some of your goals for the new year? Share them in the comments below!