7 Steps to Actually Reaching your Goals in 2019

January 29, 2019January 28, 20192 Comments

Although January has been long + cold, it’s still hard to believe it’s already coming to an end! We are already into the last of January so I am curious… have you kept up with your New Year’s resolutions?

So many of us enter the new year full of anticipation + determination to make THIS the best year yet! We swear THIS will be the year we lose the weight, THIS will be the year we stop smoking, THIS will be the year we pay off the debit, THIS will be the year…. (fill in the blank). But then a few weeks pass, motivation wanes, we become tired + feel crummy, and before we know it, we’ve completely given up on the goals we were once so excited about. Sound familiar?

If so, that’s okay because you are not alone! Many of us set goals with determination + excitement and then quickly lose motivation and fall off the wagon. Moving towards goals (especially big ones) is hard work! But I am here today to remind you, that it’s NEVER too late to get back to working on your dreams. This is only the first month of the year, we have ELEVEN more to go! As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day and reaching our goals takes time too! We want everything to happen overnight but a lot of time it just doesn’t work out that way.

So how can you get back to working towards your goals + actually make progress toward them in the remaining eleven months of 2019?

Here are 7 steps for reaching your goals + building healthier habits:

Take action

It’s one thing to say you’re going to do something, but have you taken action to actually get that thing done? What’s one small thing you can do to move yourself in the right direction? Can you have one less cigarette today? Can you exercise for just 10 minutes? Can you add a vegetable to your dinner? Pay $10 on your credit card? One of the goals I want to work on this year is creating a weekly blog post. But that isn’t going to happen if I don’t sit down at my computer and write! Even if it’s terrible, I get started because getting started propels you in the right direction. Taking those baby steps, those small actions each and every day builds motivation and will get you to your goals that much quicker.

Trust the process

Speaking of getting to your goals quickly, you have to learn to trust the process. Sometimes we set out with one thing in mind and as we work towards it, life takes us in a totally different (and often more exciting!) direction. Trust that the universe has a plan for you and that you are on the right path. Everything you need to accomplish your goals is moving towards you in the right time. You are capable and worthy of your goals + dreams. Enjoy the journey, stay open to opportunities, and be grateful for how each and every day you are becoming a better person.

Don’t expect perfection

Hear me when I say this – you are going to stumble along your way and that’s perfectly okay. If we don’t mess up along the way, we don’t learn what works and what doesn’t. No one’s journey towards their goals is perfect (despite what social media may make us believe). In the past, whenever I tried to lose weight I’d go all go all in and follow whatever program I was on 100%. Eventually I’d slip up, get down on myself, and then give up altogether. Now I know that every slip-up or mistake along the way is an opportunity to learn, to grow, and to move closer toward my goals.

Keep trying

That being said, it is important that when you do stumble or fall off track, that you keep on trying! It may mean your path looks a little different or maybe even points you in a completely new direction, but you must keep plugging away. Even if you’ve fallen off track for weeks, months, or years, it’s never too late to work towards the goals + habits that are meaningful to you! Keep trying. Find what works + what doesn’t, but keep working one day at a time.

Parent yourself

Let’s be real. As adults, sometimes we have to do things in life that we just don’t want to do and sometimes that involves the work that it takes to reach our goals. Remember when you were a kid and your parents made you do your homework before going out to play? Or forced you to eat your vegetables at dinner? Well, it’s now your job to parent yourself. Do I always feel like working out? Of course not but I know it’s good for my physical and mental health so I make myself do it. Are you going to want to eat a kale salad instead of a burger? Probably not, but what’s going to serve your goals? Is your business going to grow if you watch another episode of The Bachelor instead of answering emails? Of course not. It takes discipline but you’re not going to accomplish your goals laying on the couch eating potato chips (although wouldn’t that be nice?)

Find Your Tribe

This being said, if you’re like me and aren’t that great at parenting yourself, then you need to find a tribe that will keep you accountable. You need a friend (or a group of friends!) that will be real with you and tell you when you’re being lazy or neglecting the work you need to do to get to your goals. For me, my husband has always supported me in this way. It took me awhile to get used to his harsh truths but eventually I came to understand that it’s coming from a place of love + support. I also found a tribe of women through Beachbody that support, uplift, and encourage each other to work out, eat clean, and live healthy lives. I don’t think I’d be on the wellness path I’m on right now, if it weren’t for my tribe keeping me accountable + on the right path!

Get your head right

By this I mean that you need to work on your thought patterns and your mindset as much as possible if you are going to make any real progress towards reaching your goals. With the right mindset, you can conquer so many of life’s challenges and really accomplish anything! There are all kinds of resources out there right now that help you to get your head in the game whether it’s books, websites, podcasts, videos, webinars, or conferences. I make it a habit of listening to a podcast or reading a personal development book every day to make sure my head is in the right space to get the work done that I know I need to do. The change in my mindset has been the biggest game changer for me. If you don’t know where to start, stay tuned for a future post about my favourite personal development books + podcasts! But in the meantime do a Google search for Mel Robbins or Rachel Hollis. I promise, you won’t regret it.

So, there you have it! Don’t worry if January has passed and you haven’t made near as much progress as you thought you would on the goals you set for yourself earlier this month. You still have the rest of the year to learn, grow, and make progress and I know you can do it! I believe in you and am cheering you on! Also, if you have any other suggestions for accomplishing goals + building better habits, I’d love to hear them!

Consistency is Key: Perfection is Impossible

July 26, 20171 Comment

I am feeling very upset with myself tonight. Frustrated and angry would more accurately describe it. I just got back from another failed run. I picked running back up earlier this summer and while some days of my new training program have been awesome, some have been really, really hard. Today happened to be one of the hard ones. I was supposed to do a combined total of 34 minutes of running and about 18 minutes of walking (including warm-up and cool-down) but I didn’t even make it through half of the run before my body just couldn’t do it.

And while I know that this is just the way training goes (some days are good, some days are not), I’m also feeling frustrated because I know this is mostly my fault. It’s no surprise that my body could not perform optimally tonight (as badly as I wanted it to), when I haven’t been taking care of it nutritionally.

Several months ago, I was put on a fairly restrictive nutrition plan by my naturopath. The initial reasons for doing so were to heal my ulcerative colitis, overcome the extreme fatigue I’d been having, and to lose weight in a healthy way. After doing food sensitivity and blood testing, my naturopath eliminated the following from my diet: wheat/gluten, dairy, sugar, corn, peanuts, chickpeas, and cane sugar. It was discovered that I have a high amount of yeast in my gut (causing too much bad bacteria which causes my inflammation and ulcers) so she also put me on a yeast therapy treatment and gave me strict instructions to drastically cut back on sugar (which feeds the growth of yeast). I was also put on a hemoglobin supplement (my low hemoglobin would be one cause of my extreme fatigue and probiotics which would help boost healthy bacteria in the gut.

For a good while, I stuck pretty faithfully to this plan (with only a few minor cheats here and there) and took my supplements and treatments regularly. I saw almost immediate results – my boating and gas went down drastically, energy levels went up slightly, even my skin got clearer.

But, over the last few weeks I have lost my way. It started when we went on vacation and I told myself I could have more “treats”, but since coming home over a week ago, I just can not seem to get back on my nutrition plan. In fact, I shamefully admit I have gone completely off of it. I’ve been eating everything that hurts my body (white bread, bagels, crackers, peanut butter, tons of sugar, ice cream, cheese, fast food….) The hard thing is, I don’t know why I do this because nearly every time I do, I become consumed with guilt. I tell myself I shouldn’t have it but I do anyway, and then I feel badly. I tell myself I will eat healthier at the next meal, and then I don’t. I buy healthy foods when I go grocery shopping, but then they go back on my counter while I eat junk instead. And since my UC symptoms haven’t been drastic lately, it’s been easier for me to say “f*&$ it” and consumer whatever junk I want.

So it shouldn’t have came as a surprise that when I set out for my run tonight, I was battling some indigestion and my stomach was bloated. And when I started the running intervals, I felt like I was carrying a load of bricks around my middle. I felt heavy and sluggish. On top of that, since the weather was overcast, I had way underestimated the humidity and was sweating within minutes. Guys, I loathe being hot. Yes, I know you’re supposed to sweat when working out, but humidity just kills me!

Needless to say, about halfway through my run, I gave up and walked the rest of the way. I instantly felt hot tears of frustration welling in my eyes. The negative self-talk started up as I blamed myself for eating poorly and for not being able to fulfill the run I had hoped to do.

Maybe I am just not cut out for running, I thought. I’ve been dreading all my runs lately anyway. Maybe I am better off just being fat and out of shape. This is your fault, you should have known better…. Maybe I need to get a modified program, this one is too hard. All you did was eat carbs and sugar all day and you thought you could get away with it! You know better! What were you thinking?! You should have known this would catch up to you eventually!

But fortunately, my only saving grace tonight was that I’ve been working really hard on overcoming negative thoughts with positive ones. Sure, that harsh, judgemental, “you’re-not-good-enough-and-never-will-be” voice immediately piped up in my head, but then moments later so did the inner voice I like to think of as “my friend”.

Today is just not your day but not every day will be perfect. Forgive yourself. Yes you haven’t been making the best food choices but you can change that. It’s okay. You win some and you lose some, next time will be better. You are going to keep trying. Consistency will get you where you want to be. You can do it, don’t give up on yourself. Make one or two small changes every day and you will get there. Don’t give up.

And thankfully this positive, encouraging inner voice took over (and just so you know, I have to make a real effort for the positive voice to over-power the negative one, it’s not easy) because now I have had some time to reflect and to see that perfection is impossible but consistency is key and it’s never too late to get back on track.

What I have learned is that I need to remind myself why I started this nutrition plan in the first place. It wasn’t primarily to lose weight as I’ve been thinking of it lately (and somehow I had foolishly convinced myself that I can “cheat” with my food as long as I am working out and won’t gain weight… even though I know that’s not the truth!) The real reason I started this plan was to optimize my health. Even though, I am not currently experiencing the severe symptoms of ulcerative colitis, I am definitely starting to notice some of the warning signs since I have been eating poorly again. I’ve had far more gas and bloating lately, and am even starting to get bouts of indigestion again (something that I used to get so badly that I was taken to the hospital in the ambulance a few times because I thought I was having a gall bladder attack!) And while my energy levels have been better lately, I know that is primarily because it’s summer (which means I’m off work and it’s sunny alot!) If I were working and eating this way, I’d be feeling sluggish, tired, or even depressed. I know that if I clean up my diet, I will start to feel better. My bloating will go down (one step closer to a flat stomach!) and the digestive pain and discomfort I have will go away. My skin will clear, my energy levels will continue to increase, and it will get easier and easier to maintain the positive attitude that is so important to a journey of good health.

So although I may be feeling frustrated and angry with myself, I am grateful tonight that I know not to beat myself up (for too long anyway, haha!) and to take this as a learning experience. It’s time to put my health (in particular my gut health) at the forefront again and to know that some days just aren’t my day, but that there’s always tomorrow and that I WLL NOT GIVE UP on my goals!

My Intentions for 2017

January 1, 2017Leave a comment

Happy New Year!

Like many, I love the fresh start of a new year. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and reflecting over the last little while to try to decide what my resolutions will be this year. I love exploring different sources for creativity and inspiration, and a theme that keeps coming up over and over again, and one I am really latching on to, is the notion of self-care.

Self-care is unique to the individual so it really means figuring out what is right for you. Here’s what I’ve discovered so far about the components of my own self-care practice that I hope to implement this year.

PHYSICAL HEALTH

Exercise

This year, I’ve decided to cancel my gym membership and find different kinds of exercise that I truly enjoy. Some things I plan on doing are: walking my dog, cross-country skiing, hiking, at-home basement workouts (cardio, strength training, weights). I’ve also finally registered for my first yoga series at a local yoga studio that I can’t wait for.

Nutrition

I’ve decided to commit to cleaning up my diet for a few reasons. One, I’ve continued to struggle with ulcerative colitis and am hoping that by making changes to my diet, it will improve my symptoms and eventually put me back into remission. Secondly, I want to be in the best physical shape of my life and I know a huge part of that is eating properly. I’ve decided to try something different and have recently started the 21 Day Fix in hopes that a new program will give me the motivation I’ve been lacking. Finally, I know that eating healthy foods (and cutting back on the unhealthy ones) will give me more energy and help alleviate a lot of the fatigue I have been feeling.

Water

As part of my new nutrition program, I am trying to consume more water on a daily basis. I find drinking out of a reusable water bottle helps me to get my daily water intake and also helps me to easily keep track of how much I’ve consumed.

MENTAL / EMOTIONAL

Yoga

Besides its physical benefits, yoga positively benefits our minds helping us to become more mindful, release negative thoughts, and open our hearts to love, light, and peace. Yoga helps me to feel relaxed and helps me to slow down the rush of day-to-day life. I am really excited to get started on my yoga journey!

Journaling

The main reason I started this blog was to have an outlet for creativity. While others may paint, dance, sing, or scrapbook, my creative outlet is writing. I think a lot and sometimes my brain feels overloaded with too many things. Journaling helps me to release some of the things I am thinking about which eases my mind. Furthermore, it allows me to express myself and reach out to others in a positive way.

Slowing Down

As I get older, I find I crave a more simple and quietwe life. The drama, chaos, and negativity that thrive in the world, make me upset and make me desire a slower, simpler pace. This year, I intend to slow down my daily activities whether it’s my morning routine, driving, reacting to the choices of others, teaching, or just day-to-day tasks.

Being Outdoors

Until recently, I never truly understood the benefits of spending time in nature. Lately though, I’ve realized that being outside makes me feel overall more positive, calmer, happier, and more at peace. I’ve even found a new appreciation for our Northern Ontario winters. I’ve finally realized that fresh, outdoor air and quality Vitamin D is essential to my mental health. This year, I intend to spend more time outdoors by doing things like: walking (with friends, my hubby and my dog), hiking, cross-country skiing, skating on outdoor rinks, camping, and exploring the woods. When summer rolls around, I may even try canoeing or kayaking!

Home

One of the places I love being the most is at home. Our house is small but it is cozy and it’s one place where I can (usually) fully relax. Most of the time, this happens in my favourite arm-chair, with a cuddly blanket. Nearby, you’ll find my water bottle, sometimes a coffee, the latest book I am reading, my Chapstick, my hand cream, my iPhone, and my iPad. Next to me, my husband is watching TV from the couch with our fur baby curled up beside him. Another favourite place in my home is my bedroom. I love the cozy weight of our duvet, the coolness of our pillows, the light pouring in from behind our white, gauzy curtains. On my nighttable, I have a simple statue of Buddha that helps me to feel peaceful before bed. I love long, slow mornings lounging in bed on the weekend with my husband and our dog, scrolling through social media, reading, or making plans for the day.

Of course, there is always room for improvement in our home. While I have some projects I’d like to see happen this year, there are a few simple things I can do to help make my home even more cozy. I’ve started listening to acoustic music when doing household tasks. I love lighting candles around my home. I love the greenery of dispersing plants throughout our house. I love having cuddly blankets and pillows. I am also considering putting up some white twinkly lights in my bedroom to help create a cozy, romantic, warm space.

Relationships

There is nothing in life more important to me than the relationships I have. I am very blessed to be surrounded by so many special family members and friends. This year, I hope to cultivate those relationships even more by paying more attention to my loved ones’ needs and showing more kindness and appreciation where I can. I hope to stay in better contact with friends that live far away and to visit my three, precious nieces more often. There’s nothing that makes my heart feel fuller than time spent with those I love.

Parenting

Parenting is a tough job, and I would argue that step-parenting is even harder, especially to two teenagers. That being said, this year I intend to practice more patience when it comes to parenting. I am a highly sensitive and emotional person that tends to react too quickly to feelings of stress, frustration, hurt, or anger. This year, I will pause and think before reacting to these kinds of situations. I will listen, not half-heartedly, but really listen to their needs and interests when they talk so that they feel the love and attention they deserve. In essence, I will be kinder and more loving to my children.

SPIRITUAL

Mindfulness

This year, I hope to practice being more mindful and fully present in the moments of my life. By slowing down my day-to-day routines, I hope to notice the small things that make life so pleasurable (example: the beauty of the snow-covered evergreens that line my route to work). Practicing mindfulness will also fill my heart with gratitude, faith, and love.

Yoga / Meditation

I am excited to learn more about yoga and meditation this year and hope to discover more about myself through the practice of both. I plan to explore some guided meditations and perhaps even create a yoga space in my basement surrounded by things that inspire and motivate me.

Light

For me, light is both figurative and literal. Especially in the long, dark days of winter, spending as much time in daylight is crucial. It’s one of the reasons I always open the blinds in my home and in my classroom, and switched all my indoor supervision duties for outdoor ones. But light can also be figurative. For me the notion of bringing light into my life means to bring positivity and happiness ~ something I definitely intend to do this year!

Morning Intentions

At school each morning, our principal asks us to take a moment of silence to reflect on our day. Each day, I use that time to set some intentions for myself, for my students and co-workers, and for my loved ones. Recently, I have starting sharing my morning intentions via Facebook as a means of sending hope and light into the world. Also, by writing down my intentions, it allows me to reflect on them and express them more clearly.

Gratitude

Similar to my morning intentions, I sometimes share daily expressions of gratitude on my Facebook account. Again, writing these thoughts helps me to see them and feel them more clearly. But it’s also my intention to help others recognize the small, simple things in life that we have and to realize how very blessed we are.

What are your goals / resolutions / intentions for the New Year? Whatever it may be, I hope your year is filled with love, light, peace, and positivity! 💕

Balance

March 10, 2016March 10, 2016Leave a comment

It’s pretty common knowledge that most people don’t stick to their New Year’s resolutions. Usually, I’m right there with those that have the best intentions, but fall off the wagon just a few weeks in. This time around though, I am happy to say that three months into the new year, my resolutions are still ringing true for me. In fact, the two mantras I had pinpointed as my “themes” for the year (Good enough is good enough, and Be gentle with yourself) are ideas I still think about almost daily.

Lately, though, this idea of being gentle with myself has taken a slight twist. While I still definitely need to remember to be gentle with myself and that good enough is good enough, I’ve started to realize that, in life, there is also a place for pushing oneself. For striving. For achieving. And for setting tough goals. I started to consider this contradiction. I want to be more gentle with myself, but in light of some new goals I’ve set, I also need to be a little tough on myself (more about that in a minute). Then as I was reading one of my favourite books The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, I found a quote that summed this up perfectly. Rubin states. “There is a constant tug between striving and accepting… there is a time for both pursuing and accepting.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Recently, I’ve jumped back on the “getting healthy” bandwagon. I’ve started working out (3-4 times per week), re-joined Weight Watchers, and started the same Learn to Run program I had so much success with in the past. This, of course, can’t happen without a little self discipline and hard work. In other words, I have to be a little tough on myself. I have to tell myself no when the cookies and cakes are calling my name and I have to push myself to lace up my sneakers and get my workout in, when I’d rather be lounging on the couch. I have to skip the junk food aisle in the grocery store, and stock up on fruits and veggies instead. I have to go to the gym when I’d rather be sipping hot cocoa and blogging. It’s definitely not easy and if I’m too gentle on myself, I’ll be diving into the closest chip bag and subsisting on pizza before we know it.

That being said, in retrospect I truly believe that one of the reasons I gained all of my weight back (after losing 65 lbs.) is that I wasn’t gentle on myself last time. Every time I slipped up, fell of program, or indulged just a little too much, I’d become so upset with myself that I’d quit altogether. I was resentful because I felt like I had to be “good” all the time to lose weight. (And there certainly wasn’t room for pizza when I’m being “good”.) So this time around, while I have to push myself, I know I also have to be gentle on myself. Some days I’ll eat healthy, workout, and feel amazing and strong. Other days, I’ll stay in my pyjamas, eat junk food, and feel……. Guilt-free.

All this, of course, is called balance which ironically is another one of my “themes” for 2016. When I chose “balance”, I was focussed more on letting go of my over-achieving, perfectionist ways and making more room for rest and relaxation. But now I’m starting to truly understand what balance means. It means that there’s still a place for pushing myself. There’s still a place for striving, achieving, working hard, saying no when you want to say yes, and being just a little bit of a perfectionist. But there’s also a time for being gentle. For accepting that I will make mistakes, that not all days will be perfect, and that at the end of the day, life all is about balance and I’m finally starting to figure that out.

How are you doing with your 2016 resolutions?

Kelly Malley

Inspire. Uplift. Empower.

Tag: goals