New Year’s Resolutions That Work!
Dec 29, 2021
The short day shakedown has arrived. This magical little time between Christmas and New Year’s holds a special significance for me. I like to rake through the debris of the year, sorting through it for the good stuff, and throwing away the stuff that no longer is helpful. Like a garden, what is there to harvest from the year? What needs to be fertilized? What can I prune or pull out? What goes into the compost pile to feed the future?
The big question, “What do I really care about and Why?” helps me see more deeply into my life and times. What lives in my heart, asking for more? What brings me joy? What has meaning? My purpose in this sorting, to uncover that which I truly care about, reveals the urgency of the day, laying bare my soul to the heartbreaking consequences of not attending to my soul’s garden of dreams. Sometimes I even picture myself on my deathbed, or in my old lady rocking chair, and think about the dream. Is it worthy of my life energy? Why?
I dream of being a Notorious Badass Fitness Trainer who is powerlifting and breaking records in her 80’s (I checked, there is a powerlifting age class for 85-89 years old!). I dream of inspiring millions to be strong, eat more plants, and care for one another and the earth. Why do I care about this dream? For one, the thought of it makes me laugh out loud in a good way, the kind of laugh that fills the valleys surrounding a mountaintop one has climbed. For another, this badass old lady does not have alzheimer's, osteoporosis, or cancer, a few things that my recent ancestors have dealt with. She has carried the torch of health and fitness for 30 plus years, and the fire lights her up.
I have my What and Why, so now I need to break the big dream down into practical stair stepping goals. I know that I will be a different person when I have realized this dream, so how do I get there? What is the next step? I love to use Mel Robbins’ HARD formula. Not a promising name. Would be nice if it spelled EASY. But wait! Let’s break it down.
H stands for Habits, A stands for Aliveness, R for Reachable, D for Daily. Let’s take my big dream…
I have been building gorgeous muscles for over 2 years now, and it has become an enjoyable system, with predictable and satisfying success markers. With my nutrition and recovery dialed in, the results accumulate like layers of leaves fertilizing my fruit trees. Yeah for the power of habits!
Going big as a trainer, however, remains largely uncharted territory. My clients are getting fantastic results, and this makes me feel so alive! My next step is to develop a system to reach more people this year. Such a system will include a formula of daily habits and reachable markers. Most likely I will need another business course to help befriend my nemesis, sales and marketing! Getting coaching from a master “gardener” for what I need help with is vital to consistent gains.
How about you? What do you care about? What makes you feel alive, and chuckle in your old person rocking chair? Bring it out! Join me in the short day shakedown to find the next step toward your dreams! Make it HARD, and it can be easy!
