Say Goodbye To New Year's Resolutions + Hello To Lifelong Resolutions

As you enter the new year, I hope you look back at 2018 with a smile. A symbolic remembrance of everything you’ve experienced, learned and overcome. We’ve been through a lot together this year… beginning with the release of my Core Nutrition program, coming out with this podcast and ending with the merging of my Core Rehab Program and Prenatal Membership to bring together a community of women in all stages of motherhood. So, as we are entering this new chapter, I encourage you to always put one foot in front of the other. Do so with the courage, strength and perseverance that empowers the dreamer inside of you. I am honored to be on this journey with you, and I can’t wait to see what you accomplish.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Mindful Movement
• Finding YOUR Breath + Gratitude With Sara Reese
• Choose To Be Grateful With Angela Mader

EXERCISES TO GET YOUR NEW YEAR STARTED

START SIMPLE WITH PELVIC TILTS

LEAD UP TO HIP ROLLS

ADD IN KNEELING SIDE REACHES

STRENGTHEN WITH LUNGES

+ TIE IT ALL TOGETHER WITH THIS FASCIAL FLOW WORKOUT

EPISODE QUOTES

TRANSCRIPT

Erica: Today’s quote of the day, “The past cannot be changed, the future is yet in your power.” In this episode, I want to talk about saying hello to lifelong resolutions. I was having a conversation about this the other day because it’s something that has been very pronounced to me being in the fitness industry for well over 15 years now. I keep aging myself every year, but it’s all good! As we get older we get wiser, right, that’s the hope?

Anyways, the first thing I want you to do before we get into this episode is to pause and reflect on your 2018. I say this from my own personal experience because it’s easy to keep on moving forward and never acknowledging the incredible things that were done in the last year.

I tend to be the person who gets a project done and moves forward. Like tomorrow’s a new day, today’s a new day. Every minute, every hour, all of that. But really, take the time to glance over your 2018. What did you accomplish? It could be the smallest stuff that made you feel really good and maybe there were things that weren’t so great. So much of our life is about perspective. I want you living your life for you. 

I’m going to tell you, my 2018 was the incredible roller coaster ride. There were some incredible things about this past year like I homeschooled my oldest in the spring and then put her back in school this fall. Business was growing. We were able to go on a family Disney cruise which was something my husband and I have always wanted to do with the kids. And then late summer, early fall, my health went really downhill.

I will share a little bit of this because I think it’s so empowering to understand that we all go through things. But also that one thing to one person could affect them very different then if someone else experiences the same exact thing. This was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through because I look at myself as a very healthy person. My exercise was good, I got away from over-exercising a long, long time ago. My nutrition was better than ever and I just knew that something was wrong.

One day when I was barely functioning, I got forced to dive in deeper and figure out what was going on because I needed to feel better. I basically found out that my body does not detoxify as well as it should. So it was a stack of stuff from the past 35 years of my life that was toxifying my body.

When the health crisis started, I had this sense that everything was going to be okay and I would make it to the other side of this feeling better than I had ever felt before. I’ve hung onto that and I still believe that. I am doing incredible today, especially from several months ago with all of the emotions that go with it. When you go through something like this, you notice that it’s not only challenging on you, it’s also challenging on your whole family and those around you. But we have all gotten through it.

I have learned more through this experience than almost any other experience I’ve ever had. Especially in this short period of time. It forced me into taking self-care to a whole new level. I knew I was going to figure this out, just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

Despite this crazy roller coaster ride I've been on, I’m so grateful for my team, my family and you! I’m so grateful for everyone that has stuck this out with me because I know there was a period of time where I went MIA and I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t get myself to record a podcast or to go on a Facebook live. I just needed to focus on me so I am so grateful that you all allowed me to do that.

Everything happens for a reason, I am a firm believer of that. So, in retrospect I want you all to do the same. Reflect on your last year and if there was something horrible that happened, look to see if there was any good that came out of it. For me, I got pushed forward. I knew a lot, but it pushed me to learn even more. Not only with health stuff, but from a personal development side as well. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but in the end, it’s all good as crappy as it can be.

So, as we are moving into 2019. I think it’s important to acknowledge past experiences and emotions that came up with it. Express those emotions so you are able to move forward. I don’t like to hang on to past stuff, but it can tend to linger unless we acknowledge it. If something arises for you, maybe you feel it in your body or you start feeling emotional, it’s important to recognize it, embrace it and move forward.

Let’s move into talking about resolutions. Instead of talking about New Year’s resolutions, I challenge you to think of them as lifelong resolutions. My whole thing with New Year’s resolutions is that people set these nonrealistic expectations like, “I’m going to go to the gym every day.” Going full speed ahead is not going to give you long-lasting results. It might not even be the right thing for you, your body or your lifestyle and that’s not setting you up for success. I want to help set you up for success in life.

One thing for me as I enter the new year is that I want to get back into moving because I couldn’t do so for so long. That was mentally challenging for me, but you have to move forward and think about what is possible for you to accomplish. That being said, I still want you to be a dreamer, be a visionary and know that you don’t have to figure it out what you want and how you are going to get there today. But when it does come to you, embrace it and move forward with it, one foot in front of the other.

You might not even know what is supposed to happen next, and that is okay because sometimes the best stuff comes from the unknown. Set an achievable action piece that will get you started. Don’t overthink it, just go and do it.

WORK SMARTER. NOT HARDER. 

I don’t teach traditional fitness stuff because I want to teach you how to workout smarter so when you do harder workouts, they become that much more effective.

This analogy can work for life too, right? If we learn to make these little changes within ourselves along the way, they have a better chance of sticking with you for life. Yes, it’s not easy to start implementing new changes because you’re like, “I’d rather eat that cookie over there than this orange I packed.” – I don’t know why I thought of orange… they’re just really good this time of year and I’ve been eating a lot of them. – But when you feel that temptation, it’s important to recognize it and shift the way you think about those temptations through little changes that will add up to lifelong habits.

So for example, don’t set the goal and create the mindset of going to the gym for an hour every day… that will leave you feeling exhausted and depleted afterward and then in two weeks you will be over it. Think of it in the opposite way. Set the goal of going to the gym for 10-15 minutes for three days a week. Then as time goes on, you will be able to add to that time and do more within your time at the gym.

You can even set these goals up to be accomplished in your own home! That’s why I created my Core Rehab Program the way that I did because life as a mom can get crazy, right? You feel like you never have any time for you let alone fit a workout in. So all of the workouts can be done in the comfort of your own home and split up throughout the day. Let’s say you have 10 minutes to do something? That’s perfect! Squeeze in a few moves from the program that will activate your deep core and get those fascial lines woken up! Don’t feel like you have to put in an hour at the gym to start feeling results.

I don’t really go to the gym anymore because I can do all of my movements at home and then take a walk out in nature if the weather allows it. Today is not a good weather day around here, but that’s okay, I’ll embrace it. Later I might sneak in some Pilates or do some Core Rehab. It’s all about making our goals simple that is going to lead us to greater lifelong goals.

You have to believe that you can do it. Believing in yourself is the best thing that you can do when you are having a hard time accomplishing your dreams. But once you believe in yourself, you have to do it! Put one foot in front of the other and go for it.

I’m a dreamer. I’m going to tell anyone to dream big and go for it, but you have to break it down into smaller, attainable goals. Focus on the first step, achieve that and move forward. Know that anything you are doing in relation to your goal will get you one step closer to achieving it.

Don’t think of it as, “Oh, I missed the gym today. I had no time, what a waste.” Think of what you accomplished in your day that could also help get you to your end goal. Whether you had a really healthy lunch or you parked far away at the grocery store so you got in some extra steps in. Feel freaking amazing that you made the choice to have that salad rather than your kids chicken nuggets or you took a minute for yourself before you went into the grocery store to take a few deep breaths and recenter yourself. Appreciate what you did today so that you can feel that much better about getting to the gym tomorrow and not feel like you have to make up for a missed day at the gym.

A topic that got brought up in one of my coaching calls was morning routines. How do you start your morning? I think that piece of your day is so powerful, but also hard to manage because it’s constantly changing, right? I used to be the person who would sleep until they had to get up. And then cook my breakfast, make my coffee and then head out to go train. I started to realize that I have a much better morning and day when I don’t wait until the last minute to wake up and scramble around to get myself ready.

I now have a routine where my husband and I wake up and we get the kids ready and off to school. When I get home, I allow myself about 10 minutes just sit there and reflect on the day before, write down the things I want to accomplish today, go over what my day looks like and center myself for the day ahead. During this time, I don’t get on my computer or check social media because I am allowing myself to have some time with me and to have some time to breathe.

Once you bring awareness to what goals you want to achieve, you then just have follow your gut and go for it. That is how my programs were created, how this podcast got up and running and it’s how I made the decision to combine my prenatal and postnatal membership a month ago. 

A lot of what I teach in my Core Rehab Program has to do with what we have talked about today. Creating the habit of getting a little movement in is great, but what’s even better is the fundamentals of your body that you have never connected with before. Embracing the changes that life throws your way and being able to adjust your goals… it might just open up something that you’ve never thought of before.

I like to connect this to the deep core training that I do. When you first start, it feels so foreign and some don’t feel anything! But once they keep going, believe in what I’m teaching and trust the process, then all of a sudden one day their eyes light up and the feel it. And I tell them, “That’s only the beginning, it can only go up from there.” If you put restrictions on this process, like a time frame, it takes away from the beauty of the journey. How fun the journey can be. It can also close off the idea that you could actually discover something else about yourself along the way.

So many don’t understand the connection that you can have with your body. It’s really incredible when you are able to connect and embrace your body and the process.

I’m going to leave you with this, don’t fall for the gimmicky stuff because goal achievement takes time. It takes time to make lifelong changes, so embrace the journey and enjoy the steps along the way. Easier said than done, trust me, I know. There have been many times in my life where I am just focused on the end product, but recognize that you are doing that and tell yourself to embrace the journey.

Those are some of my thoughts on the subject because I don’t want you to be in that 80% whose resolutions fail. If you’re here listening and learning from me, let me know. I want to hear from you! Reach out to me on Instagram and let me know your what your lifelong resolutions are and the first step you are going to take to get there.

The material contained within is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. You should seek prompt medical care for any specific health issues and consult your physician before beginning a new regiment or purchasing any product(s).