Remember back a few short weeks ago when you decided it was finally time to make a change? Maybe it was that day you felt exhausted just trying to keep up with your grandkids or the dread you felt when you thought about wearing a bathing suit on your winter vacation.

You decided you had to do something about it.

How is that something working out for you?
If you are like most of us, it’s probably not working out so well! By this point, almost everyone has given up on their New Year’s resolutions and pretty much abandoned hope.
Why is so difficult to stay on track?
The reasons we have difficulty making meaningful change in our lives has nothing to do with willpower. Even when we really want to make changes we are fighting against ingrained habits and beliefs we have been practicing for decades.

To make change that really impacts our life, we need to set goals that are specific, measurable and meaningful. And we need to surround ourselves with a community of people who support us and our goals.

My colleague and friend Deb Ross from rosspilates.ca explains it beautifully:

6 Steps to Achieving Anything

One of the things I am most passionate about is helping people achieve things they thought were previously impossible. The amazing thing about working with people in fitness is that once they start to achieve those “impossible” feats, it trickles over into other areas of life.

Someone who loses 30 pounds or conquers new feats of strength for the first time suddenly gets a promotion at work, or gains the confidence to start that business they’ve been dreaming about, or even leave a relationship that made them unhappy and wasn’t serving them.

It’s truly incredible to witness these total life transformations over and over again. And I believe it comes down to following these 6 steps:

1. Identify your impossible goal. What’s that thing you’ve been dreaming about but haven’t committed to or verbalized?
2. Commit to a deadline. Write it down. Make it non-negotiable. Look at the goal and deadline every day.
3. Reverse engineer the steps it’s going to take to achieve that goal. Ask for support from a friend or coach if you’re not sure.
4. Ask yourself “What will it cost me to achieve this goal?” Will it cost money, time, or giving up things you enjoy like television? Make sure you’re willing to commit to the cost no matter what.
5. Ask yourself “Who do I have to become to make this happen? Do you need to become a morning person, more independent, or figure out a way to eliminate excuses from your vocabulary? You MUST check in on yourself every day to ensure you are becoming who you need to be to achieve the goal.
6. Find someone who believes in you and get them to hold you accountable. Very few people achieve goals entirely on their own. Having a coach to support you is one of the BEST things you can do. They will give you honest feedback, help identify your blind spots, and help you strategize when you feel like your plan isn’t working.

Ok, now it’s your turn!