Although we welcomed in the New Year not too long ago, right about now is when most people start experiencing a die-down of some of the mojo with which they embraced the New Year and find themselves slowly reverting back to their old ways and no longer as dedicated to their New Year’s resolutions.
With each New Year, we get caught up in trying to create perfection and delude ourselves into believing that we require the clean slate that a New Year presents to finally start making the most of ourselves and our lives while failing to realize that each new day we witness presents us with the opportunity to fully embrace life and do things differently.
Here are a few things we can do and habits we can embrace to make this and every year our best year ever:
1. Say “I do” to yourself
The words “I Do” symbolize commitment, convey promise and the willingness to do whatever it takes to uphold a vow.
Most of us have an easier time keeping promises and commitments we make to others while struggling to uphold those we make to ourselves. I guess the underlying reason behind this is because we don’t see ourselves as worthy of our goals and dreams.
Make a commitment today to honor yourself moving forward by making yourself and your aspirations a priority and allowing yourself to embrace everything you need to fulfill them and create the life you desire for yourself.
“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” – Mario Andretti
2. Be fearless for once
Fear keeps us paralyzed in life and will rob us of many wonderful opportunities if we aren’t careful. We should be bold enough to acknowledge that we are afraid when faced by situations that intimidate us, courageously stare fear in its face and do whatever we have to do anyway.
Allow yourself to get out of your comfort zone today by doing at least one thing you have been putting off or avoiding because of your fears and limiting beliefs. You will never know what you are capable of and what life has in store for you as long as you keep giving fear power.
The more you allow yourself to confront fear, the more it will lose its hold in your life and the more you will find yourself willing to embrace things that once intimidated you with ease.
3. Do one thing for 21 days straight
It is believed that it takes 21 days to form a habit; the reasoning behind this being that the brain is extremely adaptive to repetitive behavior. Our habits define our character and say a lot about who we are more than our words ever could.
Challenge yourself to embrace a self-supporting habit you have been meaning to by committing to doing it for 21 days straight without fail or compromise. This could include working out, giving up junk food or social media, spending more time with your family, getting to work on time and so on.
The more self-disciplined and consistent you become in practicing this habit, the sooner you will realize just how easy forming self-supporting habits really is and will feel inspired to continue on down a path of self-improvement and empowerment and take on more healthy habits.
4. Learn how to say no
We are all guilty in one way or another of taking on and embracing commitments and engagements that use up our time, energy and resources and interfere with our personal obligations thereby making our wellbeing and aspirations less of a priority and leaving us with very little to dedicate to them.
Make a commitment to start setting up healthy boundaries, to stop taking on more than you can handle and to say no to things that distract you from your aspirations, zap your energy and leave you feeling depleted and aren’t self-supporting as far as your overall well being is concerned.
5. Stop making excuses
We all make them and unfortunately allow them to sabotage our efforts as far as pursuing our goals and aspirations are concerned. They can range anywhere from not having enough time, to conditions not being favorable enough to not having what it takes to make things happen. Whatever the case, they keep us stuck in life where action is required and leave us feeling defeated in the end.
Today, commit to starting where you are and with what you have. Time will never be perfect; the nature of life requires that we be able to flow with it regardless of circumstances and situations. As you allow yourself to embrace your pursuits, you will discover that life will support and accommodate you by bringing the right people and opportunities your way thereby making conditions favorable for you.
“Most people don’t have that willingness to break bad habits. They have a lot of excuses and they talk like victims.” – Carlos Santana
6. Commit to following through
Following through on the promises we make to ourselves can sometimes be challenging because at times they require more from us than we are willing or prepared to give and force us to leave the safety of our comfort zones or embrace our fears.
Doing everything we set out to do builds both character and self-discipline, and allows others to view us as dependable and reliable. Following through includes not leaving any jobs half done, finishing everything we start and hanging in when obstacles and challenges tempt us to quit.
7. Say goodbye to the toxic people in your life
You’ve heard it before, “If they aren’t for you, they are against you.”
Take an inventory of every single person in your life and determine if they add value to your life, support and celebrate you, lift you up or do the exact opposite. It is said that we become like the people we associate with and are influenced by them in one way or another.
Let go of people who bring you down, cause you to doubt yourself and those who don’t support who you are or your dreams. Naysayers, haters and dream killers shouldn’t have a place in your life and will keep you from your destiny and dreams if you allow them to have any influence in it.
Thank you for sharing, Yvonne! This is exactly what I needed to read today. I may even have to print this article! The first item on the list immediately spoke to me. I am going to recommit to myself and say “I do”. If we have the time to invest in jobs, we should also have the time to invest in ourselves in order to be our best. Thanks!
Continuous improvement, even if it is a small amount each day, is the best way to live. People may look at you and question, but if you truly believe in yourself you have to go all the way to become successful. Every one on this list is more important than most realize.