Doing vs. Thinking: How to Achieve your Goals in 2014

Let's face it. 2014 is a month over and that resolution you made fell apart within the first 48 hrs. However, this year, I plan to do things differently. And unlike most resolutioners, I never make resolutions and as a result, never say this year will be different. But it will be. I can feel it.
To help out with staying on track with accomplishing your goals, I'll share with you some tips and tricks that, if you put the effort in, will work for anything.

First off, make tiny goals to accomplish your big goal. These tiny goals will provide that boost of, "yay, I'm doing so well," feeling we get when we accomplish something.

• For example: One of my big goals is to get toned. The mini goals go as follows:

1. Detox/Cleanse - cutting out chocolate, candy, chips, pop, fast food, alcohol, and eating things late at night. Originally this was going to be a 21 Day Challenge I was doing for myself, but as the weeks go on, I'm liking this cleanse more and more, so I made it an all the time thing and allow myself one cheat day a week.
2. Gym Rat - ever since telling my friend about my goal to get healthy and about my cleanse, it motivated her to also get healthy. She's cut out dairy products from her diet and is now my gym date every other day. Without her, I wouldn't have stepped foot in the gym. We're going to be signing up for an aerobic boxing class and yoga for me, in addition to our 15 increment workouts every other day.
3. Abs - To go along with my Gym Rat goal, I found this great ab workout on YouTube which I will have linked down below. I do three reps every other night and wake up with a lovely ab burn the next morning. I really do love that kind of burn. It makes me feel like progress is being made, even if I can't see it.

Secondly, the biggest thing is mindset. You can set all the goals and mini goals you want, but unless you're in the proper mindset, you won't accomplish anything. You have to motivate yourself. Unfortunately, that's not something anyone else can tell you how to do or should continue to do. You have to do it for yourself.

Whenever you think of quitting, remember the reasons why you made the goal to begin with. It's important to keep thinking of the time before you decided to make the goal and the reasons why you made it. 

Whatever you do, keep your motivation high and your mindset positive. The end result will be worth every second you thought about skipping a workout, or bingeing on chocolates, or sinking into that place you were in before. 

To help with the positive mindset idea, I write down three things I'm grateful for at the end of every day. It helps end the day on a good note as opposed to dwelling on everything that made me upset that day. For example, 

1. It was warm and sunny today, and for the first time in weeks, I was not shivering like a leaf in the fall while waiting outside.
2. I have pizza for supper today, and I'm super excited. Delissioso Veggie Delite whoop whoop!
3. I'm grateful today is Friday, and also my cheat day so I can drink my last beer with no guilt!

There are two mottos I live by, one of them is, "Everything in Moderation," and the other is, "Everything will work out in the end, and if it hasn't, then it's not the end." 

Those two sayings have gotten me through a lot, in addition to the quote I will be getting a tattoo of which will, "Dum Spiro Spero" ("While I breathe, I hope").

A tattoo has been on my to do list for a really long time (almost 7 years!) it just took me a while to decide on something I was ready to commit to, but recent events really pushed me to get the ball rolling on my tattoo accumulating, and so I'm beyond excited to say it's finally happening! When I go home for spring break, I'll be getting it done then, and I know once I get the first one over with, the other ones I want will be easy to handle. I hope. 

I think when it comes to things like tattoos or even getting in shape, it really takes something big to happen to you to really motivate you. In one of Sophie Kinsella's books, Wedding Night, the protagonist would always do these crazy things after a breakup. She joined a cult, got a tattoo, got engaged to another man right after her last relationship ended. Her sister called them Unfortunate Choices. But when you think about it, we all need to make an Unfortunate Choice every now and again to push us in the direction we need to go. So no matter what hand you're dealt or how you deal with it, know that life may not operate like a Katherine Heigl movie or a Sophie Kinsella book, but everything will find a way to work itself out. You just need to ride the waves when you can, and take shelter when the storm gets too rough, but no matter what, keep your head above that water because better days are ahead.

Good Luck!

XOXO,

A. Bean

Tweet