Motivation Monday

2019, A Year in Review

Arielle Miller / Abundance, Acceptance, Accountability, Adventure, anger, Central Coast, Central Coast California, Challenges, Community, Fitness, Motivation Monday, Remembering, Santa Ynez Valley, School, Teacher Life, Teaching, Updates, Yoga / 2020, Change is Hard, Honest reflections, Leaving Los Angeles, Motivation Monday, New Year, New Years Resolution, Reflecting on 2019, Reflections, To Live and Die in LA, Year in Review, Yoga / 3 comments

January 6, 2020

If you told me at the start of 2019 what the year held in store for me, I would not have believed you. At this point, I think it’s safe to say that things have reached a point where I can only laugh, because if I do not laugh, then I will cry and that certainly won’t change what has happened in the last 12 months.

Over the course of 2019, I was forced to address tremendous obstacles including the death of friends and family, moving away from Los Angeles to move to Santa Ynez to begin teaching at Lompoc High School, and struggled to acclimate to life in a small town while being ‘The New Teacher’ in a rural agricultural community. Without a support network and stronghold in a fitness community, I grappled with accepting the choices that I made to commit to this move, and found myself overrun by regret.

I felt that by leaving Los Angeles, I ‘walked away’ from a life I built. As my plans and dreams unraveled before my eyes, this itch my husband and I just haaaaaaaad to scratch seemed to blister and fester into a gaping wound.

As I attempted to navigate all sorts of emotions surging through my mind, the most persistent one, was anger. I was angry at myself, angry at my husband, angry at the people who moved my husband and I here. And above all, I was enraged with The Universe for conspiring to get us here.

As my frustrations mounted with respects to the direction of my life, doubt crept into my soul and passions such as my yoga practice fell by the wayside. At one point, my yoga practice waned to nearly non-existent which had a devastating impact on my psyche, overall mental health, and spirituality. Then, next to go was my fitness. With no cohesive fitness community in the Santa Ynez Valley, I felt a massive void in my life. The gym, taking classes, teaching classes, chatting with members, meeting new people, socializing with fellow instructors, having access to such high-end, state of the art facilities, and just being immersed in that scene left me without the motivation to bring myself to push myself to the limits needed to challenge myself physically. Finally, I just stopped doing things that brought me joy all together. And not because I was too busy or discovered new interests, but none other than the simple fact that I was crippled by regretting a decision I had made [ahem, moving to the country] and my depression set in.

I started neglecting the things that I previously garnered happiness from like my social media, drawing, writing, and recording podcast episodes. Any semblance of self-care disappeared [aside from keeping up with my roots that is] until I stepped up to coach the Girls Wrestling team at Lompoc High School…it was not until this point that I presumed all was lost, I can now see what I gained. I gained experiences that shaped me, that showed me what I need and want in this world. Spending my afternoons and weekends coaching the most badass group of gals I’ve ever met has transformed me. There are no words to convey how darn special my wrestling girls are to me. Coaching my small team of misfits gave me renewed purpose and if I am being candid was one of the major factors WHY I considered not going back to LA. Yes, I love my girls that much. Furthermore, I discovered kindness in new friends and colleagues. My department welcomed me warmly, with my department chairperson always offering earnest assistance and guidance. And my favorite, being in Lompoc gave me the the joy of educating children that hugged me when they walked into my classroom, and told me they missed me when I was out.

So, as I pack up my life [yet again] gear up to resume my ‘normal’—whisking off to a gym after work to teach fitness classes; I unroll my yoga mat with humility knowing that no matter how far I have ever moved away from my practice, it always lives within me.

As of late, I’ve made my way back to the mat. And the greatest lesson 2019 has taught me is that in spite of how lost I’ve felt and wondered who I was, that all along I was me—always standing in my power, owning my awesome, and facing life and what it hurled at me head on.

2019, it has been a WILD ride.

2020, I AM SO READY FOR YOU.

I AM THE GIRL WITH PURPLE HAIR

Arielle Miller / Acceptance, Accountability, balance, Blog, Build connections, Challenges, Community, Fitness, Goal Setting, Hard Work, Lifestyle / Battle Cry, Hard work, Motivation Monday, Own Your Awesome, The Girl with Purple Hair / 6 comments

June 27, 2016

I have spent the last few days feeling sorry for myself–ruminating on a tension-filled interaction with a good friend and coveting the success of others. I guess there really isn’t any other way to put it, I have just been angry and bitter. As a matter of fact, I would go so far to say that I’ve even felt entitled to said success I have yet to achieve. Ugh, it just sounds so bad when you actually say it, but being honest is paramount to understanding how we feel and why.

I guess like so many people, my newsfeed on Facebook is filled with people’s lives—most of which are mundane and ordinary and don’t really appeal to my hopes, wants, and desires. But alas, there are many though that taunt me with travel, packed classes with waitlists, awards, viral articles, modeling contracts, handstands, and lots and lots of flat bellies. It’s so hard not to look at the success of my friends/acquaintances and compare myself, tell myself I am better, more experienced, not good enough or successful, because it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what I think or feel about myself because those thoughts won’t change what has already been done. So, it’s really a waste to wallow when my energies can be redirected. Comparison is the thief of joy. It really is. So, I decided to reach out to a few trusted friends and share how was I was feeling—like really share how I was feeling, right down to the ugly part of being jealous of others.

First, being honest and owning how I really felt was the first step in starting to help me get over what I was experiencing. It was surprisingly liberating once I realized that these ugly thoughts and feelings came not from a place of malice but my own inadequacies. These realizations helped me redirect my efforts and refuel my desire more than ever—hell, I’m the friggen Girl with Purple Hair. Which reminds me—what does that even mean anyway?

The Girl with Purple Hair is me, you, and all of us. It’s making no apologizes for being who you are and boldly sharing yourself—all of yourself with others and the world.

The Girl with Purple Hair is vulnerable, sensitive, and compassionate.

The Girl with Purple Hair is active in causes by spreading awareness through education.

The Girl with Purple Hair feels deeply for impoverished youth, social justice, and equity for women.

The Girl with Purple Hair is not afraid to cry because emotions are what build bridges and community.

The Girl with Purple Hair makes no excuses, as there is no substitution for hard work in this world. So stop waiting, wishing, hoping, and work for it.

The Girl with Purple Hair forgives those who need to be forgiven and welcomes new and old friends [back into] her life and social circle.

The Girl with Purple Hair is unquantifiable, intangible, organic, and malleable.

The Girl with Purple Hair is me, you, and all of us.

The Girl with Purple Hair uplifts others but also needs those same people and community to in turn do the same.

The Girl with Purple Hair falters, missteps, and struggles [like everyone else].

The Girl with Purple Hair refuses to be defined by her circumstances and a victim of her life.

The Girl with Purple Hair handles shit like a boss and and won’t be bullied into silence for having an opinion, a voice, and setting boundaries.

The Girl with Purple Hair never settles and in the wake of her self-imposed pity, after leg day at the gym, put on a 20-pound weight vest and walked on the treadmill for 15 minutes a 9.0 incline—why?!

Because The Girl with Purple Hair refuses to just accept things as they are.

The Girl with Purple Hair is me, you, and all of us and this is my battle cry.

Whether my hair is purple, pink, blue or whatever shade I am feeling in the moment know this: The Girl with Purple Hair is a force and that same force lives within you. Awaken your dormant beast and unleash it on the world unapologetically. In a society that profits from your self-doubt, loving yourself is a rebellious act. Be a rebel and stand tall in your glory. Never let anyone cast shade on your light shining bright, and work with every fiber of your being to live your most authentic truth.

Own your awesome. Stand tall and vigilant and know that with great risk will always come great return. So, sometimes things don’t work out and you failed. That is part of the process. Part of growing is being stretched and pulled and knocked down to only redefine yourself on your rise back up to the top again. I am human, you are human, we are all human. That means sometimes we need the space and permission to honor how we feel for the good, bad, and in between parts, then handle business.

This is my battle cry.

I am The Fu**ing Girl with Purple Hair—are you ready for me?

Is Your Lack Of Motivation Holding You Back? Learn How To Motivate Yourself And Live The Life You’ve Always Wanted

Arielle Miller / Accountability, Adventure, Arnold Says, Challenges, Commitment, Fitness, Goal Setting, Hard Work, Lifestyle / Ambition, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brian Tracy, Danielle LaPorte, Dwayne Johnson, Goal Setting, Goals, Hope, Inspiration, Learning, Motivation Monday, Podcast, Reading, The Rock, Timothy Ferriss / 0 comments

May 17, 2016

With respects to motivation and drive it just seems that some people are hardwired differently. Some seem to work with a laser-like focus towards what they want without wavering; and for many others, they fail to even get started and will live lives of ‘extended mediocrity’ (Brain Tracy, The Psychology of Achievement). So what is it that sets those peak performers and high achievers apart from everyone else? What do they posses that gives them that slight edge to soar above the rest? I would have to say that my biggest take aways are perseverance, desire, and above all; success is only possible through failure—trying, trying, and trying again—over and over and over again at all costs.

For me I like to pull my inspiration from texts I find to be incredibly influential and people who have made it with raw grit and determination. So, what I would like to do to kick start this Motivation Monday into high gear is share with you a few things that have been fueling my soul in recent pursuits with the hopes of them guiding you to find and live your passions too.

Get Your Learn On With These Books:

The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte

Not your traditional ‘lifetsyle’ book as it includes a workbook for self-reflection guide to live a more fulfilled life based on how you want to feel. LaPorte’s approach is simple: detach from tangible outcomes like things you want to do and have and pursue matters of the heart answering the basic question of “How do I want to feel?”

This book literally changed not just my life but my husband’s life as well. It gave us the opportunity to truly gaze inward and let go of things not aligned to how we wanted to feel; thus thwarting our efforts to truly lead lives where we were happy and thriving. For my husband Greg, it meant that after our honeymoon in Bali he gave his notice at a job that didn’t offer him the soulful kind of work he was looking for. And for me, it meant that I relinquished my attachment to teaching a class that simply didn’t serve me. I had been teaching the class for a year and it wasn’t building. It commandeered my Saturday being that it was at 10:30am, and lastly, it simply didn’t light my heart on fire. Virtually instantaneously, just as I committed to letting the class go—saying it out loud and even emailing my boss about it, new and exciting opportunities literally found me. Sometimes, all it takes is letting something go so that something new can grow.

The 4 Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss

Dreamed of living in Thailand for a few months? Who hasn’t! But you can’t go, right? You have to make money, hence working and you cannot possibly leave your job—you can’t just up and go. Or can you?

Like many Americans you probably dislike your job. You work simply because you need to make money to retire, then live your life—right? WRONG! Ferriss proposes living a life punctuated by ‘mini-retirements’ where you cycle in and out of a variety of jobs that maximize your efficiency and allow you to travel and pursue personal interests. Definitely geared towards millennials or as Ferriss likes to call them the New Rich or NR, this book is an entertaining read and a how-to-guide on working remotely, working more efficiently, and chasing your passions. I particularly love that Ferriss provides websites and programs that he and others have vetted with great success in manifesting the premise of working much less by proxy of working significantly smarter.

Get Your Listening On:

The Psychology of Achievement, Podcast by Brian Tracy

Did you know that people who set goals are more successful in life and business? Yet in spite of this data, did you know that only 3% of people actually set goals?! This 1-hour podcast is filled with incredible anecdotes about the power of goal setting with some powerful facts about the dangers of just ‘wandering aimlessly through life without purpose’. I relished every second of it while listening in my car to and from work for a few days. As a matter of fact, I have listened to it twice since that initial first time and each time I take away something new. Perhaps the most important lesson was Thomas Edison’s work in developing the electric light bulb. He failed over 10,000 times while developing the light bulb, 10,000 times!!!! He was mocked by the scientific community and even called crazy. Edison never gave up and he utilized each and every failure as a tool to aide in his success. If you’ve ever wanted to do something and have allowed fear to hold you back—give this podcast a gander and start living more wholly!

Get Your Video On:

The 6 Rules of Success by Arnold Schwarzenegger

This short video is my go-to almost daily. While Schwarzenegger has led a colorful personal life, his professional pursuits as a body builder, politician, and actor make this man worthy of great respect. I didn’t realize just how impactful Schwarzenegger was in the fitness realm until relatively recently and the more I learn about him, the more I read about him, the deeper I delve into weight lifting—the more I am awed by this man’s genius.

For me this video is a constant reminder that there isn’t ANYTHING outside of my reach. It gives me that little extra push when I am feeling deflated and I remind myself that I can capture my wildest dreams no matter what others say and think.

Get Your Social Media On:

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson

I was never a fan of the WWE nor have ever seen this man wrestle. I’ve seen his movies and while I have always thoroughly enjoyed them for what they were; it wasn’t until I stumbled upon The Rock on social media that I realized his depth and complexity. The Rock is a stand up human being. He visits sick children and from what it seems, spends a great deal of his time giving back to the community, and actually running his own social media which is refreshing. His social media is a snap shot into the great things that he does like getting up early for a workout, or a flashback of how hard he hustled before he made it. Like Schwarzenegger, The Rock didn’t wait for any handouts. He worked his ass off to be where he is today. He embodies what it means to give back to others while continuing to live a life he’s worked hard for and deserves.

Below is a post from his Instagram this weekend. And what I would also like to note is that it was reading his post that in turn inspired this post from me.

So now it’s your turn. What do you aspire to achieve and how can you inspire others?

therock Wow. This 1996 XL cheese pizza of absurdity just surfaced on my Instagram feed. Brings back crazy memories – hustler’s mentality. I was cuttin’ my teeth down in Memphis for $40 bucks per match every night in flea markets, state fairs and pretty much anywhere we could set up a ring. Every night during intermission, myself and the other wrestlers would go out and set up a table in the crowd and sell our pictures and little trinkets to the fans to make a buck. My merchandise would sell between 75 cents and $3 bucks. Hell, if you were one of the few fans who had an extra $5 bucks on ya, then you could even take a Polaroid with me! You’d go home happy (hopefully;) and I’d have $5 more bucks to go towards my gas money and Waffle House. This vintage cheese pizza was one of the pics I would sell to the fans…while standing in the middle of a flea market during intermission before my match. Those days were hard core for me, but as hard as they were, all I knew was the hustle and I’d do whatever it took to climb that ladder and succeed. If it meant standing out in the middle of the crowd selling my trinkets, I’d do it. If it meant wrestling in shitty barns or the parking lots of used car dealerships, I’d do it. If it meant driving up and down the highways over 1900 miles per week to make $40 bucks per match, I’d do it. And if I had to do it all over again, I’d do it twice. I know a lot of you are enjoying the success of your hustle these days and many of you are still hustlin’ hard core to make success happen. Keep hustlin’ and don’t stop. That’s the best part about this whole thing.. is when you finally make it.. and you will.. that’s when the hustle gets even stronger. It never stops. Lastly, the week I signed this pic to an employee at Eckerd’s drug store in Florida, I got the call from the WWE that they were officially signing me to their roster as “Rocky Maivia”. As you can tell by my WTF signature, I had no idea how to even sign my new name. Thankfully, it just became plain ol’ “Rock”. #GrindDNA #WhateverItTakes #TrinketsForSale #GasMoneyAndWaffleHouse

Taking A Break Doesn’t Make You A Quitter

Arielle Miller / Acceptance, Accountability, balance, Commitment, Goal Setting, Lifestyle / Fitness, Motivation Monday, Passions, Taking a Break, Training, Weight Lifting, Yoga / 0 comments

April 25, 2016

Sometimes when we are working so hard for something that we want we just lose steam. Ironically enough, last week’s Monday Motivation post Stop Fighting Yourself To Find Yourself, was about my newly renewed fitness goals and drive. It was almost as if by writing that post I jinxed myself because after Tuesday rolled around, I sunk into a little funk and I remained stuck in neutral all week. I no-showed on a workout, tried swapping things around which really translated to putting workouts off, and then put it off again, and well, I never got to them. I racked my brain trying to figure out what was up. Aside from the 5 planets in retrograde which I was so clearly feeling, I resolved to accept that for whatever reason; I needed a little break.

During the week, there were moments when I briefly wallowed and questioned my self-worth but I tried my absolute best to resolve that this is what my body is telling me: Take a little break. While stillness is somewhat of a challenge for me, my general lack of motivation all week even with my writing projects left me questioning everything. Am I on the right path? Am I being silly trying to get into body building? Am I even a good instructor? I mean, it is amazing the things one thinks to themselves when they finally have the time! Normally I make it a point to keep my self-talk incredibly positive but this week, for the first time in a long time was just blah. But that’s life, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s great, sometimes it just is, and sometimes, it’s blah.

I knew that the only way to get out of this little slump was to pull myself out of it. So on Sunday afternoon, I came home from teaching yoga and hit the gym. I expected to feel out of it after missing 5 days but instead, it was the complete opposite. I felt energized and strong. My focus was laser-like with iron will (pun intended). It felt good to re-commit to myself. I embraced the sweat like a baptism. And just like that, my fire that dwindled was reignited and the pit of my belly was blazing.

Fitness like anything we choose to participate in life requires constant focus and re-direction. Sometimes our focus is elsewhere—we find a new class, a new instructor, or discover a new studio, and we take some time to grow. Other times we need to give ourselves permission to find ourselves then come back and remember what we love about sweating, movement, our passions, our work, our anything else in our lives that once brought us happiness. For me, these last few days were a lesson in taking a step back and honoring myself. I listened to what my body and my mind needed. Now feeling recharged, I am more prepared than ever to take on the week. Motivation waivers my friends. You are only human. But know this, as easy as it was to give something up, it is just as easy to invite it back into your life.

Is there something you’ve moved away from? Want to rekindle your relationship with yoga, Pilates, cycling, lifting weights, reading, cooking, or wine tasting? What are you waiting for? Stoke that ember within, reignite that deep belly fire and get back to your passions—they’re waiting for you.

Stop Fighting Yourself To Find Yourself

Arielle Miller / Accountability, Ashtanga Yoga, Challenges, Community, Fitness, Goal Setting, Hard Work, Lifestyle / BeFit, Fitness, Fitness Competition, Follow Through, Goal Setting, Motivation Monday, no excuses, Working Out, Writer / 4 comments

April 18, 2016

Recently, I have been experimenting with my voice on this blog. Since I have been ghost writing and recently landed a gig as a Premier Expert contributor for Lionsgate Entertainment’s BeFit.com; I have made a concerted effort to mimic the voice I employ for the masses and will be using on BeFit. While my personal experience has always led me to believe that people resonated with my personal story, transferring one’s voice globally is a whole other story. While still personal, it’s from somewhat of a distance. So I get why my audience has been a bit confused. My experimentation has led me to learn that while writing and contributing to the masses is great; my audience prefers the honest and real glimpse into my life. Well here it is, your voices have been heard and I think it’s time to share with you all what I have been currently working on.

For years I thought that because I was a fitness instructor that translated to not only did I have to love to run, it meant I had to compete—run races, train, and push myself even when my knee was shot. So, I ran races. Many, many races. I met amazing people and loved every minute of the community, but it didn’t really even resonate with me until a friend said to me, “why are you running this ½ marathon if you don’t even life running?” And it hit me. Why was I forcing myself to do something I didn’t even really like for the sake of doing it? Sure, I love Ragnar Relay and Greg and I will run Napa again in the fall of 2016, but does running light my heart on fire? Hell to the no. Am I decent at it? Is it an integral part of my workout? YES. But am I a runner? NO a million times over.

After coming to this conclusion and successfully NOT running and wasting $100 on a ½ marathon I did not run, I kind of wandered the fitness world for my niche again. I went back to OrangeTheory Fitness but that wasn’t doing it. I outgrew it in the respects that my fitness goals started to change. Doing a cardio-based class while it’s fun, wasn’t rendering my body results anymore. My body needed, craved something else. So, I then I found myself practicing Ashtanga Yoga.

Ahhhhhh, where do I being this love story? The breath, the athleticism, the no-excuse, no-dogma approach to yoga sparked an instant love affair. For me, what I loved about Ashtanga was that NONE of it was easy. Every single day presented a new challenge from memorizing the sequence, to sticking my headstand, to twisting my body into new and exciting shapes. Traditionally an early morning and 6-day a week practice lasting about 2 hours, the only evening classes I could make at my yoga studio were getting me home too late. With my writing picking up and working on building a business, I needed to be home earlier thus pausing my Ashtanga practice. However, with all things, as something exits from your life; it clears the way for something new to trickle in.

Still relatively lost and listless when it came to my personal fitness I fondly reminisced my days at Crossfit before my 4^th knee surgery. The raw power, no frills, heavy weight, and of course the community. And it finally clicked. Aside from yoga and now my amazing husband, the only constant in my physical life has been the gym—just me and a barbell.

Inspired by some incredible fitness people in my life, I realized the time is now. For years I have been fighting myself. Desperately trying to be someone that the industry would want to feature on an Instragram post, I tried to be something I wasn’t or something I can’t be. My yoga practice at times reduced to learning and sticking complicated asana to capture in a snap to share with the world. Gawking at svelte bodies and protruding rib cages, I coveted this kind of body until this recent shift—why fight my power and my God-given gifts?

I can still recall my very first day at Crossfit. I walked in for my elements class (foundation level class to learn the movements) and the coach gave me a once over then said, “Oh, girl, you are going to be good at this.”

And he was right. I am built for lifting. My short, dense muscles (and dare I say it, glutes) are perfect for pulling, pressing, pushing, squatting, jumping, and so much more. Which is why I have committed to myself in my most recent endeavor to compete in a physique competition. Yes, you read that correctly. I want to stand on a stage and have people pick apart my body all while being virtually naked. Why, you ask? Because I can. Besides, ain’t nobody gonna dull this shine. I work out for no one other than myself, period. It has only been a month and most days I am in the gym almost 2x a day and I am practicing more yoga than in recent years. While my lifting does impair my mobility with respects to yoga, I have accepted that “right now it’s like this”. I am working for something I have never had and that means doing things I have never done. For years, I always said I wasn’t a morning person. I refused to wake up before work and workout or take classes. I simply just couldn’t do it. So I resolved to make some changes in my life and stop making excuses.

Twice a week I wake up at 5:25am to take a 6:15am cycling class, then lift in the afternoons to allow time for me to write at night. Other days I lift after teaching my classes and/or practice yoga. It seems insane considering I have a fulltime job, and still teach fitness classes. But to me this isn’t extreme, it’s a means to an end. I have goals and dreams and no piece of cake is going to satisfy my dreams of being better than I was the day before.

The reality is this, since I have stopped fighting myself, I have loved my workouts in a way I can’t recall having felt in a long time. Every drop of sweat and every bit of soreness is progress. I can only move forward from here and this is one exciting trip on this journey so far. No one can do this for me. And I expect nothing other than giving each workout my best effort because you never get something for nothing. Keep working and keep fighting—no matter how audacious your dreams are; especially despite what people say. Trust me, I am told I am crazy on a daily basis. For me, when people say I am crazy I take it as a compliment, it means I am dreaming so huge it makes people uncomfortable. Never stop challenging yourself, for when you are challenged is when you find your most authentic self.

Go, Go, GOAL Get It!

Arielle Miller / Accountability, Challenges, Goal Setting, Hard Work / Goal Crushing, Goal Setting, Goals, Motivation Monday / 2 comments

April 11, 2016

Goal setting is one of the most powerful achievements skills of all. When we set goals, we create power. As Brian Tracy states, “When we set goals we develop direction, we develop focused and channeled energy, and we accomplish more in a short time than we could accomplish in years.” A major reason why people don’t set goals because people are terrified of failure and simply, people just don’t know how.

Regardless of how failing feels, it is essential on the path to achievement. Failure implies risk taking. And sometimes with taking risks, they don’t work out—so? When working towards something and you fail, it’s a learning experience to catapult you forward in the next attempt in the pursuit of your goal. Think of a baby learning how to walk. How many times does an infant fall? Not get it right? Stumble? Failure is a wonderful teacher. We must remain open to what failure is trying to show us while growing us.

Goal setting is about reviving your passions and redirecting its energies with purpose. Use your strong sense of purpose while working towards your goal. It is what will keep you fueled while chasing your dreams. Let’s examine goals and goal setting more closely, goals fall into 3 categories:

Family and personal goals
Business and career goals
Self-improvement goals

Select a goal category in your life you are interested in cultivating

I would recommend to focus on an area that’s lack-luster or just not working for you. Use this opportunity to liberate yourself from a vicious cycle of misery or to elevate yourself. Such as addressing a job you dislike, to write in your journal 3 times a week, or save $10,000 to take that trip to Thailand. No goal is too big and no goal is too small. Use your sense of desire to keep your goal afloat and commit to your goal with conviction. Believe in yourself and your ability to achieve whatever it is with every fiber of your being.

WRITE YOUR GOAL DOWN

Until a goal resides on paper, it’s just an idea and usually a fleeting one at that. Even write down the tangible outcomes of your goal and make sure to include the fruits of your labor. How will achieving this goal positively impact your life? What is the outcome of this goal? Visualize the positive influence in your life, then write it down—give this goal a pulse and bring it to life!

Give yourself a deadline to reach your goal

Goals without finite deadlines are often lost to the abyss of procrastination or this thing called life. Put an expiration date on when your efforts will come to a head. Now, this doesn’t mean you set an unrealistic timeline either. If you are looking to lose 20 pounds of fat, hoping to do so in 4 weeks is not realistic.

Set yourself up for success

What is your plan? How are you going to actively work to tackle this goal? What are the steps you need to take to manifest this want in your life? Identify potential obstacles and prepare for them by writing them down on paper. Often times, you will find that you’ve envisioned scenarios and obstacles that don’t exist, or are in reality much smaller than initially imagined. Finally, identify people, groups, and organizations whose assistance can support you in achieving your goal. Find people and others to lift you up and provide you with support.