So the new year is in full swing and you’re looking to get back into the swing of things with new goals, dreams, and ambitions but you don’t know where to start. Most people don’t reach or start their goals because they don’t fully commit to what they want! Nothing will kill progress faster than showing up without a plan. YES!!! I said a plan. So if you’re looking to stay on track this time around during the new year I want you to follow these steps to remain on track and enjoy the journey to a better you.

Step 1: Understand your time and how much you can actually utilize towards improving yourself.

-We can truly underestimate how much time is available in a day and what we can do with it with a well thought out plan of action.

Step 2: Create a plan of action for yourself

-Once you commit to the time you can dedicate to improving yourself you need to start gathering the tools you’ll need to generate a plan of action. Preparing a grocery list, meal prepping, laying out clothes for the week are just a few things that may free up some much needed time for yourself.

Step 3: Show up

– I know you’ve heard it before, showing up is half the battle. Once you move from being a spectator to an arena player it’s a different type of vibe. You feel confident, focused, and most of all committed to holding yourself accountable.

Step 4: Track everything you can

– It’s so many factors at play in living a healthy lifestyle. Sleep, food, and recovery are overlooked in making massive progress. You can’t outrun bad habits and they’ll quickly work their way from your mind into your daily life. Practice setting an alarm and placing it far away so you have to get up to turn it off. You can also use food trackers like MyFitnessPal to track your food. There are also iOS and Android apps available for tracking the hours you sleep.

Step 5: Learn how to recover

– It’s crazy to think that we know how to work hard but following hard work we don’t know how to relax and prepare to commit to hard work again. You have to learn how to recover from all the stress you put on yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually. Sometimes we take on other people’s problems and forget to take care of ourselves. Make a list of some things you enjoy doing to take your mind away from work and won’t hinder the progress you’ve made thus far. If you’re having trouble thinking of a few things, think of something that makes you smile, something that makes you laugh, and something you love. This is a great start in the right direction.

Last BUT not least…

Step 6: Fall in love with the process

– In improving yourself you’ll have your ups and downs but dwelling on the bottom won’t bring you any closer to the top. Nothing beats a failure but a try and you only fail when you give up. Take pride in what you do because most people will go throughout their entire lives and wonder what it’s like to accomplish most of what you have. Despite all the battles you’ve faced you get to smile and know you believed all along and that was enough to carry you through your journey of a better you.