Happy New Year
Shaklee Family!
Just so you
know, I do not use ChatGPT to write my emails or articles. You’ll get my real
words, complete with the occasional spelling and punctuation errors.
At least
you’ll know it’s authentic! 😄
I wanted to
briefly touch on a problem that many of us face, myself included, when we roll
around to the new year.
That is
overwhelm.
You thought I
was going to say resolutions, or health goals, didn’t you?
We all seem to
make resolutions and many of those resolutions center around some health goal.
Lose weight, build strength, run a mini marathon. Whatever it is, we set it, we
may even take the necessary steps to achieve it, then come sometime in February
we give up.
Life gets busy,
we have an illness or injury setback and Bam! We’ve fallen off the wagon, so-to-speak.
It happens.
I have learned
there is a pattern and often the reason we don’t accomplish our new year goals
is because we sometimes try to change too much, too soon.
I’m saying we
get overwhelmed.
This happens
when we either set too many goals at once or we set too unrealistic
expectations and expect the results too soon.
You may set goals to lose weight, get stronger, read more books, learn to paint, take drum
lessons…and on and on. While it certainly is a good thing to make plans to achieve all
those goals, the problem lies when we set out to achieve them all at once.
Maybe losing
weight is your goal. So you set up a plan to cut carbs, sugar, (chocolate, too?!) dairy and processed food all at once. What did that
leave you to eat? How long did you think you'd really last eating carrots, celery and grapes?
While yes, eliminating
some unhealthy food is helpful in losing weight, I can assure you that
if you try and eliminate all of them at once, it’s very likely you will quit
very soon.
Why?
It was too
much, too soon. You became overwhelmed.
Maybe you didn’t
have a good step by step plan in place to handle the cravings. You got hit by a
virtual storm of cravings for literally everything at once and even with an
iron willpower, it may have been too much to handle, especially if you experience
any stress at all.
So, how do we
achieve all our goals if we can’t get through the first week without diving head
first into a carton of ice cream when life gets crazy?
How do you eat
an elephant?
That’s right –
one bite at a time.
Instead of
trying out for every goal you’ve ever had since sixth grade all at the same
time, narrow your list down to the top one or two goals. Don’t forget about
those other goals and do write them down, I’m just suggesting you pick just one
goal from your list to start with, and make it something you really want.
Maybe you overall
goal is to lose weight and get healthier. Well, what does “healthier” look like
to you?
Is it just losing
the pounds or do you have a goal to walk a 5k marathon in June?
Is it you want
to be strong enough to ride horses or to live into your 90’s, still active in
your own home?
(Psst, it's OK to want all of the above. Just pick what reason really feels right to you)
What do you
specifically want to get out of “being healthier”? Be really specific. Then
write it down. Write down all the ways you know you can do right now to work towards
that goal. Then just pick one way you are going to use to work towards that goal.
That’s right, I
said just pick one thing.
You can
probably guess why.
If you work on just one method, one thing you can change today, and focus on just that one thing, you are far more likely to achieve it then if you listed 52 different things you are going to change and then give up in exasperation next week.
Remember the
K.I.S.S. method. No, I’m not referring to the rock band KISS. I’m talking about
the acronym,
Keep
It
Simple
Sweetie
(some people say the last "S" stands for Stupid, but I thought Sweetie was nicer.)
Pick one thing
you can do today to be a stepping stone on your way to getting “healthier”.
Walk or do Pilates
or Yoga for 15-20 minutes after dinner 3 days a week. You can build up the
time, but 20 minutes is a great place to start because most people can carve
out 20 minutes better than 30 or 60 until they get into a routine.
Maybe split it
up into two, 15 minute sessions. Whatever works with your schedule.
And guess what?
When you achieve that one little thing, it creates a shift in you that makes it
easier to add the next thing on your list.
See, it’s like
exercising a muscle. The more you do it, the easier it becomes and the more you can do.
So go ahead and
list all your hopes, dreams and goals for this year. Then pick one goal for
now, list all the reasons why you want to achieve it, then list all the things
you need to do to accomplish this goal.
Then pick just one thing you can change
right now. Get good at that one thing and then move on to the next method on
your list.
In no time you
will be well on your way, deep in a new, healthy habit, which allows you the
capacity to then add a new step or a new goal.
Try this and
watch come February when many others have long given up and fallen back into
old habits, you are forging ahead adding one small step at a time.
That my friends
is how you beat overwhelm and achieve your goals.
And just so you
know, I fall into this same trap myself, so please be a friend and remind me of
my own words in a couple of weeks!
**Special
highlight: Don’t forget to use your $10 referral link!
Did you ever
notice whenever you order online and the order confirmation comes up, that at
the top of the page is a referral link you can share with a friend and get $10
off of your next order of $50 or more?
What’s cool is your friend also can get $10 off of their order! And there’s no
limit!
Be sure to copy
that link and send it to a friend today!
This is for my members only. To get your free membership that gets you 15% off retail and this $10 referral promo to use over and over again, visit
https://us.shaklee.com/en_US/tobehealthy/storefront
Please reach
out if you need help finding your link or redeeming your $10 promo code.**
Thank you all
for trusting me, and Shaklee, to be your partners on your journey to better
health.
Be well my friends,
Julie
Visit our Shaklee online store: https://us.shaklee.com/en_US/tobehealthy/storefront
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