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A new year is upon us and I don’t know about you, but I am ready and excited for the New Year! It’s a great time to reboot and think about new goals or how we want to do things differently this year. So, here are some ideas to help you get off to a good start and keep the momentum going!

Get Clear About Your Goals

Are your goals specific? Have you written them down? Goals in our minds that are vague but not on paper usually don’t go anywhere. Write down your goals. Where do you want to be a year from now in your health, your finances, your relationships, career, etc.? Get specific. Lose weight – how much? More income – how much? Pay down debt – how much?

Dream Big But Start Small

Nothing wrong with dreaming big, but it so important to start small. Take one of your big goals for the year and break it down into small manageable micro goals.

Example: If you want to lose 20 pounds this year, maybe one of your micro goals is to increase your water intake to four glasses a day. Another one maybe to exercise for 10 minutes a day. What do you think you could realistically do and handle? When you get consistent with that for a week or two, you can stretch and build on it.

Build in Rewards

Depriving yourself is not a great way to have success. For example, If you are wanting to start a new diet and you are addicted to sugar, then going off of sugar totally is not a great idea and will possibly will set you up for failure. If you are hooked on soft drinks or Starbucks, ask yourself, how many flavored coffees or soft drinks can I eliminate this week? That way you don’t feel deprived and it gives you something to work on.

You may also give yourself a cheat day or a reward day where you can splurge. What you are ultimately trying to do is to develop new habits and not totally deprive yourself.

Keep Your Vision in Front of You

You may want to create a vision board with slogans or pictures of things you want to have or achieve and keep it somewhere in front of you to remind and inspire you. The brain likes imagery.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

If you blow it, don’t beat yourself up. Cheer yourself on and start over. Too many people think they blew it so why bother and they quit. To err is human. Be kind to yourself and your own cheerleader.

Find an Accountability Partner

Two are better than one. Who could you partner with in doing some of these things that may have similar goals? Or, who could you tell so they can ask about it and follow-up with you? You may want to consider getting a coach to help you and hold you accountable. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when you know someone is interested in you, standing with you, and holding you accountable.

I hope these tips will have you get your New Year started on the right track. Here is to a Healthy and Happy New Year!