3 Easy Ways to Start January Feeling More in Control

If you're gearing up for the new year with a list of goals you plan to achieve with the thought process "Once the holidays are done I'm going ALL IN!" This post is for you.

It's also for you if:

-You've had a goal you've been trying to achieve for the last few new year's that you keep not following through on.

-You haven't set any goals yet.

-You want to make some changes, but you're already doubting yourself.

There's a lot of hype around the New Year and it can be a great way to get people going. Unfortunately, it's not great for keeping people going. There are 3 things I see people do that sets them up for failure right off the bat:

They try to change too many things at once

Example: They have a 100 oz water goal and a 10K step goal and a new workout plan and a nutrition plan and they're also gonna be in bed by 9:30 EVERY NIGHT. However, their current status is- barely taking in 30 oz of water on a good day, haven't worked out in years, and most nights they're on their phone scrolling until 2:00 am.

It's like trying to get a baby to skip crawling and just start running.

They try to make changes that aren't realistic for their life

Example: They've decided they're going to follow a 5 day a week workout plan that they found on the internet. However, they've never worked out before, work 50+ hours a week, have 4 kids, and they're a single parent.

It doesn't get much more unrealistic than that.

They go into it thinking willpower and motivation will carry them through

Example: They dive into their new plan at the gym with gusto! They willpower their way past the donuts in the office and fast food on the way home! They are banking on motivation to propel them to the gym straight from work, and it works for a little while. Buuuut they got off of work late today and the gym is packed... they absolutely hate that...Motivation fades and willpower melts away... by the end of the day they're ordering pizza. They beat themselves up. Once again, they're woeful about not having enough willpower and losing motivation. They tell themselves they'll start again next week. Next month. Next New Year's.

You need more than just motivation and willpower along with the ability to not let a hiccup totally derail you.

Here's 3 easy ways to start January feeling more in control so you're not overwhelming yourself, depending on motivation, or draining all of your willpower.

1 Pick ONE thing to make a little bit better

Changing several things at once will get too overwhelming and ultimately lead to you falling back into bad habits. You need to build the capacity with small steps to be able to handle bigger changes. Choose just one thing to shift and once it's locked in build from there.

-Drink 10 more oz of water 

-Add a 10 minute walk after dinner

-Include a veggie in your lunch each day

-Get off of tech 10 minutes earlier than you are now

It needs to be something simple that feels doable. It might feel so easy that you tell yourself "There's no way this is actually getting me anywhere." I assure you it is. Because going big and overwhelming your capacity so that you end up back at square one over and over again is why you are where you are now.

Nail it down for a week or two then add to it by drinking 10 more oz of water or adding a fruit with that veggie to your lunch.

Little steps WILL equate to the progress you're looking for.

2 Let it be easy

Change doesn't have to be back breaking and hard to be real. Going from not working out at all to aiming for 5 days in the gym likely isn't going to happen long term. What's the easiest step you could take right now to move yourself closer to your goal habit?

-Take a walk this week

-Throw an apple in your lunch

-Spend two minutes feeling your feet on the floor, jammies on your body, cool air on your skin while you breathe before getting out of bed in the morning

-Drive a different route home so you won't be tempted to stop for another iced latte

The change can be small and still incredibly effective. There will be consistent and sustainable progress.

3 Expect imperfection- then keep going

At some point you're gonna mess up. You're gonna miss a workout, not take your morning walk, skip meditating, or eat too many sweets. That's okay! It's going to happen. All you have to do is keep going. Go to your next workout. Walk tomorrow morning. Choose better in the next moment.

We derail ourselves by making a missed workout mean something that it doesn't like "I'm a failure" or "I lost all my progress" . No. It means you missed your workout. That's it. just go tomorrow. Don't make it a bigger deal than it is.

Applying these 3 things will make your success inevitable. 

This is how I help my clients make changes that stick with them even long after we're done working together. If you're looking for guidance and accountability to finally stick to the changes you want to make for your health and wellness you're in the right place! Email me at janna@jl-wellness.com and let's talk about how we can work together!