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say no to resolutions, say yes to achievable change

So it’s mid-January and you’ve had a few weeks to living with your New Year resolutions.

You had great intention and for a few days, you really had the energy and motivation to tackle them. Then life, work and other commitments kicked back in, bills started arriving, you packed away the Christmas decorations. Before you know it, you can’t remember when you last did anything towards cracking on with those resolutions.

Just a second, what were those resolutions you set?

You might want to hang your had in shame. You might want to reset your resolutions and give them a new start date. You might want to forget the whole dang thing.

And this is why I say no to resolutions. And why I want you to say yes to achievable change.

To build new habits, travel in new directions and change your life, work or relationships, takes real consideration, effort and energy before you start. It’s why I produce a whole workbook on setting goals and life rules that align with your values. I want you to achieve your desired changes, not hit hurdles and blocks.

(If you missed the workbook and planners in the festive season, here’s a link to part one and here for part two.)

So, what to do now? Follow these tips and stretch your life:

First off, go easy on yourself. Change is often difficult, even when we really badly want it. Acknowledge any feelings of fear, discomfort or stress. These are typical reactions to moving away from your current norm and into something new. Setbacks and mistakes are too. They are part of the change process.

Next step back, revisit the workbook or work through it now to ensure you’re creating goals that are grounded in your strengths and values. This is essential to making goals that you can live with and work towards in a sustainable way.

Do a reality check:

  • what other “must do’s” and “should do’s” form part of your diary?
  • These might be things like go to work, attend a class, take a fast walk around the park.

  • what deadlines are fixed in stone and what can vary?
  • Your friend’s birthday dinner or an important meeting are likely to be fixed, but which gym class you book this week is probably flexible.

  • what’s your cashflow like?
  • Your bank balance needs to be able to afford change. e.g. the fresh, organic ingredients for that yummy morning smoothie or the full price of your new kit or mentoring.

  • where can you get inspiration?
  • To both keep you motivated now and in the future. Do you need a change buddy? Or a source of new ideas? Maybe a collage speaking to why you’re making these changes?

    My final tip? Keep going. Little steps. Every day. Be bold and be brave. By bedtime, you’ll be a bit closer to achieving your change.

    I am intrigued, tell me how are you doing with your goals and life rules for 2015? What’s working and what’s driving you round in circles?

    Over the next few b-mails, I’m going to dig a little deeper into the key ways, tools and steps to life, career and fitness change – let me know what you’re puzzling over and I’ll include an answer in the b-mail.

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    Happy New Year!

    I’m raising a virtual glass to your health, career, life and business ambitions for 2015 and grinning at your gumption and drive to getting there! I hope throughout your stretches and changes, b-elastic and I will be there for you, providing help, insight and inspiration.

    And my first gift of the year, another little reminder to pin, post or share to keep you flying in 2015.

    Happy New Year! x

    Happy New Year!

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    Ho! Ho! Ho! Happy Christmas!

    Wow! There won’t be many times that I actually get to deliver you a b-mail on 25th December – Christmas Day! 🙂

    I wish you and yours an amazing day with great company and wonderful fun. My gift to you is this cute, homemade post card – download, share with the buttons, pin it above your desk, …… it’s yours. Enjoy xx

    A small visual "Happy Christmas" from b-elastic

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    get ready for 2015

    Not long now and we’ll be in full festive mode. I really hope you found time to invest in your 2015, by reviewing how 2014 has been for you in the last week. (If not, go back to last week’s b-mail and start when you’re ready.)

    Last week’s chunks enabled you to review what has gotten you to today and how you’ve felt about that, as well as what challenges, blocks and hiccups along the way. You began to reflect on what you’d like vs what you got.

    So turn to page 13 and together, we’ll get ready for 2015. Again, you can do this in one sitting or split it in two. (p13-19 and p20-p29)

    The first part seeks to expand you thinking in order to develop and grow your initial ideas into new areas, more depth and greater clarity. With these, you’ll then build a set of goals and find an associated value or belief to enhance the goal.

    Next, prioritise and assess your goals into a workable plan of actions. To assist with this, I’ve described 2 parallel methods – pick the one which works best for your brain; it depends which “end” you like to work from or to. I’ve included 6 goal tables to complete this method with – if you need more, just print out another page.

    The assessment phase forms a mindmap of warning bells; the blockers, barriers and emotional gulps that could stand in your way. By recognising them now, you will be better able to spot them in 2015 and tackle them positively and successfully.

    And we’re heading towards the finishing line! It’s time to schedule and diarise your actions, milestones and celebrations!! Lots of you wrote to say you really valued using the b-elastic planners last year to do your action planning, so here’s my second December gift for you – 2015 planners, which have been updated, improved and added to.

    get ready for 2015

    A teeny sneak preview 🙂

    Download your copy here.

    Once your goals are blended into your 2015 diaries, take a glass of wine or pot of tea and celebrate your investment in yourself, your future and your brilliant 2015!

    I really hope that the 2014 in Review workbook and the 2015 planners are a pleasure to complete and enable you to build towards a truly amazing 2015. I’d love to hear from you about your goals, your actions and of course, how I can be of help, inspiration and support to you. Drop them in the comments.

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    2014 in review

    So if you’re following last week’s 10 things to do in December b-mail, you’ve been awaiting this week’s to answer your no. 10 spot. Here it is.

    The tenth thing I would love you to do is invest in yourself and your future success and happiness by reviewing 2014. I’m splitting this into two parts – this week is pages 1 – 12 and next week is pages 13 – 29.

    Woozers, Sarae I’m busy right now, I don’t have time for all that.

    Don’t worry. I hear you. You can break it down again, pages 1-6, 7-12, 13-19 and 20-29 plus you can dig in and come back later to refine. It’s not a giant Christmas buffet to be eaten in one sitting. Slow down Rudolph. Take your time. You’re worth it.

    Let’s look at the first two chunks that look back at 2014.

    To review 2014 holistically, I’ve designed a number of different mini reflections to enable you to gain the broadest complete sense of how the year has been. It looks at the eight big areas in all our lives and your satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) in those areas. It draws upon both what you’ve done and how you did them as well as your emotions and feelings around them.

    Naturally, I’m suggesting that you look at what didn’t happen and why. You need to uncover what blockers and barriers were hindering you – these could be your own or perhaps others’ or the context that you were in.

    How to fill it in? Print it out (use A3 if you’ve got big writing like me!), grab some pens and a good brew. Put on a soothing background track and dive in. To gain the most from this, I’d encourage you to be open and honest with yourself – yet be kind and generous with yourself. What do I mean by this? State the facts as well as keeping in mind, you’re human and the world spins in odd ways sometimes.  Good things take hard work and effort.

    2014 in Review Post image

    Download your workbook here: b-elastic | 2014 in review

    Next week, I’ll introduce the second half of the workbook, which focuses your mind and heart into what you want from 2015.

    Don’t forget to share any a-ha moments or any questions you have in the comments. If it’s personal, drop me an email and I’ll come back to you and you alone.

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