Hey friends! Happy New Year and Welcome to 2019!

I am SO looking forward to this year and the ability to chase light and adventure, serve outstanding clients and pour myself into this gracious lifestyle of being a full-time photographer!

But we’ll chat about that a bit more later. Right now, I want to dive into everything you all said about New Years from my Instagram poll last week! And if I haven’t said it enough, I LOVED all of your feedback!! It is so helpful and rewarding to interact with this online community and I love seeing how everyone is prepping for 2019.

Let’s check out what ya said below!     

 

  

      

I loved seeing that a vast majority of you are working towards some New Years resolutions. I know it’s been said but the New Year can be surrounded by so many stigmas and cliches.  How many times have we heard people say, “I’m going to lose 15 pounds this year!” or “This time, I’m seriously sticking to my diet.” But then, fast-forward to the second week of February and people have all but given up on themselves and their diets – which is why I’m sure about 14% of you have given up on resolutions all together.

I get that. I hear you. And that totally does happen.

And honestly, I am a firm believer that you can decide to change your life at any point of the year, any day of the week. Heck, I’m an advocate for that. FDP became my full time career in the middle of a week in October. So I’m here to cheer for you at any stage of the process and tell you that you have the power to make a change.

But I also believe that the New Year can be such a refreshing place to start. It’s a great place of re-evaluation and I want to dive right into that place of reflection by chatting about some resources that have thoroughly helped me as I plan for 2019 and beyond!

Brendon Burchard, #1 New York Times best-selling author and high performance coach, recently did a podcast with one of my all time fave gal pals, Rachel Hollis. You’ll constantly see me posting screenshots of her podcasts on my Instagram story because seriously guys, they’re audio GOLD. But I digress… on this specific podcast titled, “Daily Habits that Change the Game,” Brendon and Rachel talked all about the New Year and how it’s so difficult for people to attain their goals. Brendon talks about how at the beginning of a new year, people should sit down and write out where they want to be in three years. Not by December of 2019, not by next January, but THREE years down the line. And then, jot down all the skills you’ll need to become that version of you. Now, figure out how you’re going to be able to attain those skill sets. Brendon says that so many resolutions fail because people are focusing on task goals, such as losing 15 pounds, rather than skill goals, like training for a marathon or developing a healthier lifestyle.

The only thing setting you back from the person you are and the person you want to be in three years are a set of skills you do not currently have. Did ya get that? Let me say it again – The only thing setting you back from the person you are and the person you want to be are a set of skills you do not currently have.  So, figure out what you need to do to obtain those skills, and get on it! I can’t take any credit for that research, but I can tell you that when I heard it on the RISE podcast – it hit me like I just walked into a door, backed up, and walked straight into it again. I was so dumbfounded by this revelation that I began vigorously writing down who I wanted to become in three years. Phrase after phrase, dream after dream came pouring out of me like it was just waiting to be released. I could see it, friends! I could genuinely see that person I want to be and I was then able to define what skills I’d need that would enable me to get there. Because I cannot take any credit for his genius, I’d love to direct you to Brendon’s book titled, “High Performance Habits,” so you can dive into more of this goodness yourself!

Another thing I’d like to bring up while on the topic of Rachel Hollis is something she chats about in her book, “Girl, Wash your Face.” And it goes a little something like this… how many times have you planned on going to the gym when you wake up in the morning, and when it’s actually time to lace up your sneakers and get moving, you decide that the Netflix series you are watching is more important? Again, not my analogy, but seriously, how many times has this happened? I can put both hands in the air and jump up and down because I have run into this bad habit so many times it’s slightly embarrassing!

Basically, it boils down to the idea that we are SO quick to break promises to ourselves. I mean think about it, if you promised a friend, or a co-worker, or a partner that you’d do something – wouldn’t you do it the best you can? But then how come, when you make a promise to yourself, you’re so quick to break it? It’s like we’ve trained our brains that it’s okay to let ourselves down but not let each other down? How does that make any sense? So friends, as you’re gearing up for the new year…rip a page out of Rachel Hollis’ book (no, not literally) and keep those promises to yourself.

If ya missed it in the links up top, check out those and some other awesome resources below:

• Rachel Hollis – Girl, Wash Your Face
• Brendon Burchard – High Performance Habits
• Rachel Hollis – RISE podcast
• Ed Mylett – Blissful Dissatisfaction
• Cheryl Strayed – Brave Enough
• Jen Sincero – You are a Badass

 

Thanks for tuning in, friends! Now that I’ve shared all of your results and some resources to get ya motivated, let’s meet back here next week and I’ll share tangible ways you can set yourself up for success this year…and the next three 😉