Downsizing Your 2021 Resolutions
Peace, joy, and hope—the very elements that will fuel your faith and empower you!
So we all know 2020 was a really rough one for a lot of us - I included. I took some time this past week to sit with a lot of my emotions and thoughts on this past year, and boy was I in for a SHOCK! I asked myself so many D**m questions! What did I want to focus on more? How was I going to grow my business BIGGER? What agency did I want to focus on getting signed to? How was I going to make actionable differences for the new year? Was there things I needed to improve on? JESUS even typing all of this is giving me a massive migraine, and I want to grab a glass of wine to soothe my mind!
While all these questions are very great to answer, journal, or think about.... I highly encourage you to read on, and avoid all of the anxiety I felt once I started answering these big questions.
When I started making my lists I noticed myself feeling immediately OVERWHELMED! If you feel me, find me on Instagram and send me DM, or comment below and let's chat because I'm sure we'd have tons to talk about.
After I had a few minor panic attacks because I started feeling less than or not good enough, I started thinking "okay if I feel this way.... I can't imagine how many other women and men feel this anxiety too". There's so much pressure at the end of the year to come up with new ways to tackle your HUGE goals, be healthier, get that dream bod, make more money, etc., etc. Trust me I had those thoughts too!
So...I stopped in my tracks, got over the anxiety I felt after a few glasses of wine, and started brainstorming. I wanted to think of some new ways that I could help stop this horrific trend of creating New Year's resolutions that stress us the F**K out! 2020 was already stressful enough! Now when I put my pen to the paper, and let my thoughts flow, I felt more at ease. The pressure was GONE! I immediately started writing down bite-sized goals, and things that I knew I could accomplish every day. This made me feel great! YUP, GREAT! I knew I had to share this with all of you because it helped me so much, and if you know me at all you know I love helping others ( it's a blessing and a curse sometimes, we will get into that later.... ).
I wrote down stuff like waking up 20 min earlier and grabbing a book to read that sat on my shelf collecting dust, or taking my vitamins every day so I could build a stronger and healthier ME! I even wrote down listening to a podcast about improving my business for 10 min every day because why not!? I usually just watch Netflix anyway while I do my makeup, so why not swap that out for some good ol' fashioned learning! It's a WIN-WIN in my book if I might say hehe. I realized as I wrote all these small things down, that sometimes we all tend to forget about the little things that we need to do every day. We are all so hyper-focused on the BIGGER VISION all the time, that we forget about what's really important. Which is the little, and actionable steps, that propel us to our bigger goals. So, what the heck did I do and how can you get started on creating those goals too!?
Below you'll find some tools that I collected for you all to help you CRUSH your 2021 goals.
I know they will help you feel oh accomplished, and set you up for major SUCCESS!
BYE ANXIETY! You are not welcome in our lives anymore!
Tool NO 1. Think about your motivations DEEPLY.
For example, let's say you want to lose weight...
Now ask yourself: Is it because you’re trying to conform to Instagram's unrealistic standards about body size? Is it because your doctor told you to do it, or someone close to you made a comment about your body? Those are external motivators, aka exactly the opposite of what will help you reach your goal! On the other hand, if losing weight is your goal because eating healthy foods and exercising makes you feel physically and mentally better, then that is the right approach to have because it's an internal and sacred motivator. These types of internal motivations, that are not influenced by outside sources will more likely help you build new, long-term habits.
Tool no 2. Pick bite-sized goals that are actually achievable for you.
I FREAKEN LOVE THIS ONE!
For New Year’s resolutions to work, avoid those (as I like to call them) "BECOME A MILLIONAIRE goals", and focus instead on goals that are doable and easily measurable. Those millionaire goals might be wayyyy too vague, and obviously require a lot more bite-sized steps in-between. If you set this ginormous and nonspecific goal; what motivation are you going to have to ever try to achieve it again if you fail? This sets some of us up for immediate failure, and we ain't about that life sis!
Start small ladies and gents! Set yourself up for success, and pick some small bite-sized goals that you know for sure you can accomplish! This will release all those positive neurochemicals, and your brain will be OH SO HAPPY, plus you'll want to go at it again! Yeah, I tried to get a little scientific on you, SO WHAT hehe.
tool no 3. Make a plan, not a resolution HONEY.
Having a goal is great, but how will you accomplish it?
For example, if you want to make more money in your business or simply more than you made in the previous year, then ask yourself: "What are the steps I need to take in order to do that?"
Do you need to aim for a promotion at work? Save more money, and spend less? Maybe you might need some more schooling to help you advance in your craft? Trust me, the more you breakdown your goal, the easier it will be to create those smaller actionable steps.
tool no 4. Last, but not least:
Cut yourself some slack BABE!
2020 has been a rough year sis, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself when it comes to achieving all those big goals of yours! It's a natural feeling to want to better your life in the new year, but remember to not be so hard on yourself if those goals aren't accomplished right away. I know you aren't a quitter babe!! Keep going, and embrace the journey, not the destination. I tell myself this all the time!
Encourage yourself with gentle reminders like:
- Set some phone alarms to remind you to take those vitamins, or to hit the gym.
- Make a list of things you want to get done the night prior, so you're already setting yourself up for success for the next day.
- Start using a planner - ( Day designer, Target, Amazon, or Barnes and Noble are great places to start looking for one ).
- Find an accountability buddy to help you stay on track - I do this all the time in my business!
- And lastly- If money is tight, don't you worry babe! Set yourself up for ultimate success, and savings, by choosing goals that are inexpensive to achieve!
Now see, that wasn't so hard, was it?!
I bet you thought this was going to be a huge list of questions and documents!
(BEEEEEPPP NOISE) WRONG!!!
Try some of these simple and actionable steps, and be sure to send me a message after you're done to let me know how it went! I love hearing from all of you, and I'm always here to help!
Till next time!
xx
Samantha Lilliann