New Year, New You? Why Not.

Add to Your life, instead of cutting out

I’ve been listening to a ton of self-development podcasts on the daily. Yes, the new year inspires us all to get motivated, change something, improve something or start something new.

Can it be overwhelming? Yes. Is it scary? Yes. Is it information overload? Yep.

But is it possible?

Absolutely.

One podcast that I’m really getting into is The Mindset Mentor with Rob Dial.

In one episode he encourages you to think of yourself as the hero of your life. Do you remember the movie, “The Truman Show” where Jim Carrey’s character is living life completely unaware that his every move is being televised?

What if that happened to you? What if you had thousands or millions of eyes on you throughout the day? Would you press snooze? Would you skip that workout? Would you eat that pizza?

And that’s what it’s all about. You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out,…sorry, I had to!

But it’s about the choices we make on the daily. They’re either going to keep us where we are, changing nothing from the year before or actually start shifting things.

For me, I stayed stuck for so long, doing the same thing, saying the same things, choosing the same bad habits day after day because it was comfortable. It’s so easy. And that’s what we want most these days, right? Ease. Convenience. Low effort.

It’s way easier to stay the same and keep playing small rather than branch out. We don’t want to take a risk. We don’t want to fail or struggle.

Many of us can peek out over the ledge but we’d never dream of jumping. We cower back. We stay where it’s safe.

I do. And I have for years. But that desire for something more, that yearning, that itch, it doesn’t go away. You can try to bury it for so long but it’s always there.

And sadly, time won’t wait for you to be ready. You can’t press pause on your entire life like you do for netflix and get yourself all situated and ready first.

Look, a lot of us have great lives. Perfectly content. I have a wonderful home, beautiful and healthy kids, a supportive and loving husband. There’s so much to be grateful for. And believe me I am. And yet, there it is, this desire for something else.

Why can’t you start questioning? Start wondering. Am I happy? Is this working for me?

Start simple. Is there something that you’re curious about but have never tried?

Do you want to add more veggies to your life? Do you want to try a food delivery service to make meal prepping/eating healthy more attainable?

Focus on adding to your life, not on cutting out. “I need to lose weight so I have to eat less and cut out sugar.” “I have to stop drinking coffee.”

No. If it’s daunting, it’s not sustainable. If you dread the very thought before you even start, how can you possibly keep it going?

So here’s the deal. If it’s something that scares you and excites you at the same time, then you’re on the right track!

Without question, the unknown is hard initially, but long term? The benefits hugely outweigh that discomfort. You’ll never regret making a change for the better. What you’ll regret is NOT making it. Think of the long game.

I know making writing a daily occurrence for me is crucial. I need it. It’s a non-negotiable. It’s an action, it’s a step towards more, towards possibility.

What’s your non-negotiable?

When you actually stop, sit, think about it, write it down, think about the possibilities it could bring, the positive impact it could have…it’s pretty exciting isn’t it? Who doesn’t want that?

But we have to take that first step and get out of our own way. We have to make the move. Make the time. You can make every excuse in the book about why you can’t, but in reality, it’s within anyone's reach if you want it badly enough.

Because the hard truth is, NO ONE will do it for you.

It’s your call. It’s in your power. It’s your life we’re talking about here.

Just one step is all it takes to move that needle. To decide that you actually will change something for the better and stick with it. Make it a part of your daily life. How do you want it to look? What do you want for yourself?

It’s right there waiting for you. Start believing that it’s possible. Start believing in yourself. You deserve this.

Why not you?