Hello folks,
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2019!
Today, we are well and truly into week 2 of the new year and I’m wondering how those goals and resolutions of yours are doing? Did you start and stop mid-week? Have you not started at all?
I’m prioritising my fitness this year. Oh have I big plans for my fitness. So far it’s going well. I’m following the Yoga with Adriene ’30 Days of Yoga’ series and haven’t missed a day. And I also started the Couch to 5K app last week and today marks week two. I’ve also meditated for 7 straight days. This isn’t really a goal for me, as I’m a devotee of meditation, but sometimes I miss the odd day here and there. Not this week, however. But, it’s early days yet!
During the week it dawned on me why I was managing to keep up with my plans and hence the subject for this blog. So here it is – and it’s no big secret, I’m sure you’re well aware of this. But one of the biggest reasons why people don’t stick to goals – at any time of year – is due to a lack of PREPARATION!
“Fail to prepare, prepare to fail”
Benjamin Franklin
Yup, you know it. I know it. But the penny really dropped with me this week. Every night, I have laid out my yoga mat, charged up the laptop, set out my essential oils, prepared my running gear. And the next day it has meant when I’m up, I’m straight out to run, or straight onto the yoga mat. There’s no delay. And if I do get side tracked, the yoga mat is lying out in the middle of my sitting room reminding me that I have this exercise still to do!
Most lifestyle changes are hard to do, they take time and dedication. It takes massive effort to drag ourselves out when really we’d rather just stay on the couch. So if you prepare yourself ahead of time, it signals to your brain “I’m making a change here, get ready”. And then the fact that you have everything laid out and ready to go, makes it easier to follow through.
So what have you been meaning to do?
Practice your singing? – the night before, find the exercises, chose the song and lay it out on the table!
Get up earlier? – the night before, have dinner earlier, decide to shower in the morning, put the phone away, read, GO TO SLEEP EARLIER!
Book yourself a language class? – tonight, google the phone number of the class so you can call tomorrow and enquire!
Want to bring your lunch to work? – Find the Tupperware, layout the non-perishable items, make a little extra with dinner to have as leftovers.
Want to get to the gym? – pack your gym bag the night before and lay out your tracksuit.
EVERYTHING we need to do needs preparation. But usually we’re rushing that preparation the ‘day-of’; and then we get distracted, too tired, run out of time and lo and behold another day has passed and we didn’t get to the activity we really wanted to do for ourselves.
The days I don’t prepare the night before run a LOT differently (read worse, scatty, rushed) than the days I do prepare the night before. Every good day, starts with a good night.
So resolve to prepare.
Yours in organisation,
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