Its August, and the start of a new school year. Its also the chance to redeem oneself from the from the perils of January resolutions and start over. It seems like we all have great plans to lose weight or save more money or whatever it is that we think we need to change or improve. It’s a few weeks after we set those lofty goals that reality sets in, and plans go awry. However, its not to late to start over again.
In fact, it would be too late NOT to.
The best way to start over is to just do it. Don’t make excuses why it didn’t work last time. This is tabula Rosa. You have a fresh slate, just do it. What has already happened, happened. You can’t change it so don’t stress about it.
Make a list of goals. What do you want to accomplish? Write it down. Be specific. I am a big fan of vision boards or look books. Its easier to make something happen if you have a concrete idea of what you truly want. I put pictures, quotes and written goals on mine. Look at it every day, even for just a moment. It keeps it fresh and helps motivate you to achieve your dreams.
Round up the troops and garner support. Tell your family and friends what you want to accomplish. Encourage them to be on your team and help you succeed. The more support you have, the greater the likelihood you will reach your goals.
Be realistic. You are not perfect. Expect that you will have off days and might not always be 100% successful. Its ok. The problem will be if you don’t dust yourself off and get back at it. I try to build in cheat days or cheat meals or a day off from working out. That helps me not feel guilty if I want to sleep in or enjoy a potluck dinner or just have ice cream with the family.
Have fun. If its drudgery, you won’t stick to it. Don’t get caught up in the perfect diet plan that restricts what you can eat totally or a work out that you hate. You won’t keep at it, and you will be looking for excuses to cheat. I’ve done all the diet programs out there and nothing has stuck. There isn’t a magic pill or diet or workout that is going to fix you. You have to do the hard work yourself.
Remember, its what’s on the inside that counts. If you eat because you are stuffing feelings, diet and exercise isn’t going to fix the problem. You need to fix what is the underlying issue first. Its like when my son had road rash. A scab can’t form over it, so it has to heal from the inside out. The same when we have wounded feelings or stuffing emotions. We need to heal from the inside out too.
Have a reliable measurement tool-and reward yourself. Get a manicure or download a song when you reach a benchmark. Buy a new outfit or shoes. A book-whatever jazzes you. You need the motivation to keep you going. I love when I’ve reached a mini goal-like getting a month’s worth of scrapbooking caught up-and I love to reward myself too!
Its never too late to start over. Get in there and get on with life!
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