Hello there and a mighty fine welcome to 2015 to all you ladies and gentleman out there. The PG team and I hope you have had a most excellent festive break and are ready for a rip roaring 2015, we certainly are. There will be another article about what we are doing for 2015 and our theme for the year, but first I want to tackle the New Year and our desire to change.
The start of the New Year is a time when people look at their lives and want to make changes. This is inevitable as the festive period is generally the one time of the year when we have time to stop and reflect on our lives without many other distractions. Therefore, after the overindulgence and the forced family time, we look deep into ourselves and latch onto the birth of the new year with a vigour for change. The gyms are packed, courses bulge with new entrants and people embrace change and the new.
As many posts, articles and commentators will tell you, those great intentions will most likely come to a creaking halt, even before the end of month. There are many reasons for this, but it generally boils down to lack of willpower to push through or the lack of motivation to take action.
So if you want to change your life then lets start by doing two things, Taking Action & Planning Ahead, which you do first depends on your personality. If you are generally a ponderer or a planner, get off your chair and Take Action, if you are a go getter, then sit down and lets plan it out a little first. If you want to get fit and lose weight, take action by going for a long walk – right now, then come back and plan. If you need to plan, write out a plan of the exercises that you are going to take over the next 90 days, then get off your chair and do it.
You will need a reason for change, this reason should be a positive one, indeed a big bright positive one. Set a target and make it clear and specific. If you are saving for a house, for example, make sure that you have a picture of an ideal house to look at when you are feeling unmotivated. You will be drawn to do the things you need to do more, if you have a full sensory picture of what you want. If that means you have to make a few house visits to window shop, then do it!
Set a realistic target first, small wins build confidence and then you can leap for the stars. If you want to make a million, but you are not even making six figures, then look to double your current income first. If you do this successfully, then progressing to a million is not that great a leap.
Let’s put the reality check in place, everything you do will require some level of ‘payment’ or ‘sacrifice’. If you want to lose weight you will need to change your diet and take time to exercise, this will impact other areas of your life. That is why the reason must be positive and shining.
When you have reached your target, remember to celebrate. You always need to reward your successes in life.
I have not mentioned the word goal, with a great many people it has many negative connotations, especially if you do not achieve it the first time. These are way points or markers on the road of life. As we always say, this is a journey and we need to have points that we aim at along the way. Some people will speed there and some people might make a few detours en route, but we all get there in the end if the destination is bright and clear and the way points are clearly marked along the way.
So this year, go out and place your waypoints in the distance and let’s help each other along the journey to all of our success.
Happy New Year,
#1PG
