DON'T POO-POO NEW YEAR, NEW YOU!

If you know me, you know I LOVE new year's resolutions, goals, dreams... whatever you want to call them!  I love the idea of New Year, New You!  Before you roll your eyes, poo-poo the whole idea as sucky, and stop reading, hear me out...

Over the past few years life coaches, personal trainers, and people in general tend to put down the idea of having a new year's resolutions saying the new year has nothing to do with goals, you don't need January to start on a fitness journey, etc.  This year, I see a big backlash on all social media against the phrase "New Year, New You" - which by the way, I use all the time advertising my body transformation program and lifestyle coaching.  I stand behind the phrase and am proud to help you in the new year, working on a new you!  It's all in how you're taking it, and I think this is where the resolution and "new you" bashing comes from.  These days coaches and leaders  are very conscious of expressing that you don't need to be a "new you" and you don't need the "new year" to change habits.  You are enough as you are. Obviously I agree, we don't need to have a new year to be healthy, lose weight, get fit, eat right, but if a new year excites people to make positive changes, then I'm all for that and I will support them and help them learn how to be healthier, hoping some things will stick throughout the year, hoping they will fall in love with exercise and get hooked for life, hoping they will realize how amazing they can feel being healthy and that will make them continue!  To me, "new you" doesn't mean you suck right now and you need to be a whole new person.  It doesn't mean you're not good enough now as you are... it means no matter how awesome we are right now, we can all strive to evolve in all areas each day, each month, each year, we should all be constantly recreating ourselves, shouldn't we?  I always come back to the Sophia Bush quote "You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress simultaneously."  We are all masterpieces, but we can work on the masterpiece that we are forever - it's a never-ending process!  The new year is a great time to look back on our last year, enjoy all the amazingness we accomplished, think about what we're grateful for, and also think about what we want for the new year.  What's wrong with being super-excited about what the new year will bring?  I think a lot of the problem with the world is people aren't excited enough about their goals, we need to dream bigger, reach higher, push ourselves a little more! Why can't we want to make big changes?  Big changes that that actually excite us enough to actually follow through?  When someone tells me their big goal is losing ten pounds, I know why they have trouble following through on making that goal happen... Losing pounds isn't exciting in itself.  While losing ten pounds might be one of your goals, try to think of a few big amazing goals that go along with that idea.  What will you do in your new fit body? You need goals that will make you jump out of bed each morning, excited to work out every day, meal prep, eat the right things in order to achieve that goal.  And then you need to remind yourself about what your working towards all the time to keep that momentum going!

This weekend I have been making a new vision board full of inspiring images, writing down goals and action plans, setting up my calendar, ridding my house of all the junk I don't want in my new life, and smiling about the new me I want to become this new year!  How are you preparing for this shiny new year?