How many times have you made New Year’s resolutions, only to completely fall off track by February? We always have good intentions and feel so inspired by our goals entering into the next year (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to make positive changes in your life!), but when we create resolutions that we ultimately can’t sustain, we end up feeling like we’ve somehow failed. It’s a vicious cycle my friends, and I’m here to let you off the hook — You don’t need to make a New Year’s resolution this year in order to make healthy changes in your life — and here’s why…

The biggest problem with resolutions is that they are usually so specific that it’s hard to maintain them with the ups and downs of life. They just aren’t sustainable and our all-or-nothing mentality is killing our progress towards our goals. And the thing is, we don’t know what lies ahead each year, so it’s important that the goals and changes we want to make in our lives allow for wiggle room when our lives don’t go as planned. There’s nothing worse than planning to lose 30 lbs by May, work out 5 days a week and eat a salad every day, only to get to May and realize life got busy and your goals didn’t allow for flexibility. So how the heck do we create healthy changes that are sustainable and allow for that flexibility so we can actually feel accomplished by the end of next year? It’s simple — We need to shift our focus and perspective from setting strict rules that we won’t follow anyway, to how we want to feel this coming year and choose goals that support those feelings and intentions.

• Instead of planning to go to the gym 5 days a week every week, make it your goal to add more movement to your weekly routine because you want to gain more energy and feel more confident.
• Instead of starting a new diet, make it your goal to focus on nourishing your body each day because you want to support your monthly cycle and feel more vibrant.
• Instead of doing a daily meditation, make it your goal to work on managing your stress this year so you can support your adrenals and feel less anxious.

Goals like these give you the opportunity to shift and make changes as needed. The type of movement and workout schedule that is easy in January may not be so easy once summer hits. Your body may have different nutritional needs as the year progresses and when life gets busy, you need to allow yourself to change course and adapt. Maybe this coming summer you decide to train for a marathon — you’re going to have to switch and adjust your workouts and your nutrition to accommodate that. Let the all-or-nothing mentality go this year, and choose goals that support how you want to feel. I promise that when you show yourself grace, you’ll set yourself up for success and feel so much more accomplished by the end of the coming year, and so proud of how far you’ve come!

If you’re looking to get started working towards your new goals for the year, check out the Own Your Everyday Journal — 90 Days of Victory by Soulscripts. I love how quick and easy it is to keep track of the small steps and wins along the way, and feel so accomplished at the end! It’s not your average journal/goal tracker and I think you’re going to love it.

Tell me, what’s your goal(s) for this coming year and how do you want to feel? How will you allow for flexibility with your goal(s)? Let me know in the comments below!

Wishing you peace and joy in the New Year! — Spencer