New Year, New You? How to Successfully Implement Your Resolutions: 60

Hello everyone, welcome to the Heal Nourish Grow podcast. Today I wanted to chat with you about New Year's resolutions. It is that time of year again, and I already did an episode in December that was all about giving you some ideas on how to work on your goals, learning about your core values. And so I really wanted to follow, follow that up with once you learn what your goals are and you've set those out, how What is the plan to successfully execute those, basically? Uh, because as you know, what usually happens each year to a lot of people is we make some resolutions or we decide that we're gonna make some changes in the new year, and you might get to say the end of January or something, and then some of these changes kind of go by the wayside. So in addition to what I always talk about with habits is starting with very small things to build up to larger things. So you'll start out, you know, again, to use the example of the marathon, you wouldn't just go out and run 26 miles one day. You slowly work up to that. You start, you know, maybe you start walking a few days a week, and then you gradually start running for a little bit, and then you start to increase your mileage. So you get what I'm saying with this? You do it slowly over time. And that's the same thing with any of these goals that you have. People tend to, at the New Year's, say they're going to do, you know, They're gonna change their diet, they're gonna start exercising, they're gonna clean up their house, they're gonna get more organized, you know, a lot of things at once. And you're really better off, and I think I mentioned this in the first one, is to simply start with one, um, area or one goal and start working on those little steps to implement that. And maybe each quarter or each month, add on a few more things until you get to sort of all the things that you want to add into your life. So we've already talked about that a little bit, but what I wanted to share with you today is something that I had, uh, published with Authority Magazine in the past, and there's a video over at my YouTube on it, and that is my 5 C's for success. And so I wanna talk about these in relation to New Year's resolutions and New Year's goals, because all of these things, all of these C's that I'm about to share with you are things that you can use to be successful with implementing your changes that you wanna see in the new year. So the first one, let's start out, is consistency. And so this is something that will make a lot of sense to you if you've ever tried a new habit before, is the more consistent you are with it, the more it gets ingrained. So it's just like brushing your teeth, right? I mean, you started when you were a little kid, maybe you liked doing it, maybe you didn't, but one way or the other, you now get up in the morning, you brush your teeth, you don't even think about it. It's a habit. And that's what habits are wonderful for. There's no longer any motivation involved in it. It just becomes something that you automatically do. So the way to create any kind of new habit is you need to practice it consistently. So whether it's working out, brushing your teeth, running, whatever it is, there's gotta be some sort of consistency to it. And so you wanna map that out for yourself. If you take your goal that you have for yourself, maybe it's changing the way that you eat, you're gonna start to slowly change that over time and you want it to be a certain number of days a week. So you might say, if it's diet, for example, You might say, okay, for 2 weeks, um, I'm changing my diet to be a healthier version. And so for 2 weeks, I'm just not going to eat any bread. And then every single day you don't eat any bread, and that's the only thing that you change. You don't change everything all at once, right? Or maybe it's, um, you know, I'm only gonna eat bread 2 days a week, something like that. But then you be consistent with that for a few weeks until it gets more ingrained as a habit, and then you build on it from there. So consistency is my first C for changing your habits. The second one is commitment. And so commitment is also kind of related to that motivation thing. You might not wake up every day motivated to make some of these changes, but you can tell yourself every single day, you look in the mirror and it's like, this is what I am committed to, right? This, I'm committed to this goal. I'm committed to being healthier. I'm committed to running 4 days a week, whatever it is. It's having that commitment. And it's not only just having it in your head, right? So writing it down on paper, your commitments all, all written down, something to look at each day. Maybe you write them on a Post-it note and put it on your mirror so that you know what it is that you're committed to. And then every time you feel like, you know, blowing off a new habit or making a choice that is not in alignment with that commitment, you just go back to the commitment and be like, no, I'm committed to being healthier. And so today I'm going to stick with being consistent with not eating bread. So that's just an example, right? But it can be applied to any goal or anything that you're working on as far as changing your habits. Okay, the third C is choose. And this is something that I often, uh, say— I, I think there's a lot of power in using precision in your words. So people will often say to me— now it's going on, let's see, it's New Year now, so it's— I think it's going on 6 years since I went, uh, low carb and then keto. And It's just something that I have chosen, right? Something that works for me. It's something that I choose to do for my health. And, you know, people will often say to me something like, oh, well, I know you don't like bread, or, oh, I know you don't like whatever the food is that they think is off limits for me. It's like, no, it's not that I don't like it. I choose not to eat that because it is not good for me, or it's not good for my health, or whatever it is. But if you can switch the way that you think of those things in your mind— and I just realized it's super dark here, I should have turned on my light, but I don't know if that's actually better. So if you're listening to this, apologies, I just turned on the desk light for the video so it's not so dark in here. Um, but having this mental shift, having this mindset where these are things that you're choosing and you're— it's an active choice— that is much better than looking at it as something that's forced upon you or that you have to do to get healthier, that you have to do because you have diabetes. No, you're choosing to do these things, and there's power in that. So changing the way that you not only think about this in mindset, but the words that you use when you happen to speak about it with other people or the way that you talk to yourself about it. Use that word choose, use choice, because it is much more powerful than feeling like you have no choice or you are forced to do something, right? So hopefully that makes some sense to you. And then the fourth C is community. And this one is so underappreciated. Finding your community, whether now, you know, in the days of the pandemic, maybe it's that you've found your community online Or maybe it's that you miss your in-person community and you're not feeling still as comfortable about, you know, being gathered publicly. Find some kind of way to create your community. So it could be online, it could be, you know, having a phone call, a Zoom call. It could be more structured. So it could be an online community that already exists on some place like meetup.com, finding some people that are committed and choosing to do the same things that you do and use that community, use that community for support. There is so much research on when people change their eating habits or they start to exercise, all kinds of research showing that when it's done with a partner or in a group, that you are so much more likely to be successful. So find your community, find your tribe, whether it's on Instagram, whether it's online, whether it's in person, whatever it is. Even if you're an introvert, introverts need community too, right? People think of introverts as that they don't like people. It's not that they don't like people, that's just not where they get their energy. So Even if you're a person where, you know, it drains you when you go to a group or you have an event and then you just need some time, but you still need to force yourself to get in that situation where you have that community that will support you and propel you to your goals. Then the final C, and there's a bonus one, so maybe I should just start calling it the 6 Cs for success, but I have a bonus C, um, that I will share at the end. But for the fifth one, it's connect. And so this is very related to community, but it's about, uh, making connections and can be more looked at like, I kind of think of community as more of a peer group and something that is motivating and people that you're accountable to. Where I think of connection is more like sort of could be a mentoring situation. It could be just, uh, connecting with people that are on the same path, but it's not necessarily a part of your community. Um, but just making those connections because just like it is in business, you never know when that next connection is going to be someone or some thing that can really help you along your journey. So making it a point to connect with new people outside of your community, outside of maybe the exact paradigm that you're looking for, because, you know, getting different perspectives, getting different input from your various connections, it really gives you just a broader perspective on the world and might give you some innovative or creative ways to reach your goals or to change your habits that you might not have thought of before. So making those connections along the way outside of the community that you already have is another really important C for success. And then my final one, the one that's the bonus one, is clarity. And this actually maybe should be the first— should be the first thing maybe that you start to think of, because until you have clarity around your goals or exactly what it is that you're trying to accomplish, you're less likely to be successful without that clarity. So if you're confused, if you're thinking about changing certain things but you're not sure, or you don't know how to go about it, these— this clarity part is setting some things in place so that you can start to decide what your goals are and then implement these plans to execute them. So sometimes clarity just comes simply from, uh, you know, being present, being aware, being mindful, maybe doing some meditation around how you're feeling and the kinds of things that you want to change. Just being really self-aware, because especially nowadays, everybody is so distracted and so you know, on your phone all the— it's just constant, uh, external input where people don't take any time to just kind of sit quietly and listen to their intuition. And I'll give you a great example. This actually happened to me just recently where Peter was out of town, and so I was by myself without a car for a few days in the middle of New Mexico where I know nobody. And so of course I was just working a lot and you know, doing some things in relation to the impending move. And I went out to the hot tub one night and I forgot my phone and I wasn't about to get out of the hot tub and come back in and get my phone. You know, it's not the end of the world. I don't mind sitting quietly by myself, fortunately, but it is easy to kind of always distract yourself. And what happens is it takes away, it takes away your creativity. It takes away your time to like do directed thinking. So there's daydreaming is one thing where you're just kind of, you know, your thoughts are getting produced by your brain with no direction, and that's what your brain's designed to do. There's nothing wrong with that. But then there's this other way of thinking, this directed thinking, like you're trying to solve a problem, or you're just, uh, you know, getting present with what's— what feelings and what is in your awareness by being quiet for a little bit, or just being introspective. And so when out there without my phone, I started thinking about various work-related things, projects that I wanted to be doing, and I had a couple of really amazing ideas ideas that I had not thought of before. And it became just this sort of revelation to me, like, that I hadn't given myself that time in a little bit to really just sit with my thoughts and let things kind of come to me. So that is part of getting clarity— can just be that introspective time. Another way to get clarity can be to simply work with a coach. So if— whether it's a health and wellness coach like somebody like me that works with people that want to look and feel better and help them, you know, create these goals, get clarity around what they wanna do and how to go about it. So working with a coach can be another great way to get clarity. Uh, writing is another way to get clarity, kind of giving yourself a prompt or, or sitting down and just doing a free flow writing session for 15 minutes and kind of putting your health and well wellness as the topic and kind of just writing whatever comes to your mind and, and what feelings are coming up for you. That can also help you get clarity. And then finally, outside of just working with a coach, working with or talking to some people that are in that kind of community that you're creating for your health and wellness and, and for the types of things you want to do. For example, like there's a big keto community, carnivore community, those kinds of things. If you're working on changing your diet, or the Whole30 community, or the paleo community, there's all kinds of these things. So using those community connections to have discussions about your health and wellness, or just close friends, people who are willing to, you know, chat with you about these things and listen to you work through them. That is another great way to get clarity. So I think I offered— I know, no, I don't think I offered— I did offer this on the podcast that I did previously about New Year's resolutions and this core values and goals worksheet idea that I put out there. And I will still offer this to anyone that is needing this for 2022 through the end of January if you get in touch with me. I'm doing a coaching session, half an hour for $50, so that'll be a little special. Just if you happen to hear this and feel like that you could use this in your life, let me know and we can make an appointment to talk, and then I could be some— that person for you to help you get some clarity if you find that useful. Um, other than that, I think this will be out by the time this is out. Um, I might as well go ahead and just put it out there, is that we closed on a house in Utah. So it looks like the vagabond tour for now is officially over. But I'm really excited because if you've, you know, been around any of my content before, you might know that I'm a snowboarder and we usually travel every year somewhere to, you know, go to larger mountains. Because having lived in Ohio before, there was really nothing around there. We do have one tiny little ski hill that was close to us in Cincinnati, but it's about, uh, you know, less than a 1 minute per run, which is nothing like being out west, which is what we like to do. So this year I will be snowboarding in Utah and I'm really excited about that. And, uh, yeah, and probably at this point I'll still be unpacking and trying to get ourselves organized. And, uh, the kids are coming out to see us on their break from school, so that will be fun. But yeah, that's kind of what's going on. I have not worked through my 10-year goals worksheet for a little bit. It's been a couple years, and I am planning to do that for myself here shortly. So I will be taking my own advice and using the worksheet that I created so long ago and making some of those goals for myself. So if anybody's interested in hearing about those at any point, obviously reach out. Um, the coaching, the learning more about, you know, or letting me know more about what topics you want on the podcast, any of those kind of things, you can always reach me at info@healnourishgrow.com. So hopefully these 5 C's for creating success will help you in your New Year's plans to change your habits, to to get healthier, to be more productive, whatever it is. These can be applied to any goals that you want to create in your life. So, uh, have a great rest of your day, and I will sign off here until next week.