Ok, so let me guess, you have made a list of at least a few things you are going to change throughout January, right? I mean it is the new year now, and I am sure there are some habits you want to stop or add to your daily routine, and right now you are feeling pumped, excited, and ready to take on anything! Afterall, this is your life and you are not going to let anything stand in the way of what you REALLY want right??
While this is all well and good, and I am the first to jump in with both feet and a ton of enthusiasm…there’s still SOMETHING that will eventually get in the way; some sort of road block that could derail you completely! So plan for it!
Plan for the obstacle!
Try to think about what kinds of things have knocked you down in the past, think of feelings you had just before or after you got knocked down. Think of people who you let chip away at your true goals.
Write down each thing that has been an obstacle in your effort to achieve your goals. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a physical barrier, a mental block, or a social setting that derails you from your goals. Write it all down. I love huge white boards when I am really trying to figure out the root cause of a problem, I can really scatterbrain my thoughts like my brain. After you have written down everything you can think of that might knock you off your game, pick a different colour and write down an action for each and every obstacle. Think about what action you could take that would help you stay on track!
For example, you want to eat less carbs. A friend invites you over to a pizza party, “everyone’s going, come on, you have to be there!!” You decide to go and you are afraid you may overindulge on the pizza even though you are trying to eat less carbs. So try pre-eating. Make yourself a scrambled egg before going, or make yourself a hardboiled egg and put it on a loaded salad before going! Make yourself a protein shake and bring it with you. Let people think what they want! It’s your goal, not there’s! When it comes time to eat the pizza, you will already be a bit full so why not have a piece! AND, really enjoy it!
If you’re trying to exercise more, and you know that you will have days you don’t feel like doing your workout, set aside some lighter workouts that you know you can conquer just so you don’t have to skip a day. You could even plan things like a walk with a friend, or a hike through the forest. Just because you want to workout everyday doesn’t mean you have to hit the gym and lift 500lbs, or run for hours on a treadmill. Plan some easier workouts. You could even find a good yoga studio, or find some yoga on YouTube! Or for another way to think about it, try making a ‘skip card’.
No matter what your new goals are, give yourself a ‘skip card’. Make yourself a note and choose once per week or once per month (whatever is realistic for you) so that you can give yourself a skip day! Sometimes you do just need a day off, so celebrate it instead of feeling like a failure for it.
Life throws you lemons – otherwise there wouldn’t be a saying about it! Since we all know it, we might as well plan for it!
Figure out your obstacles and create an action plan for dealing with it! It may not work every time, but it should help for most of the time!
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