2014: Learn. Grow. Relax. Laugh.

Leaping into the new year

Happy New Year, friends! I have a great feeling about 2014!

You know that I'm the type to get off on resolutions or goals or on change.  A few years ago I began to take it even more seriously because, hey, it's hard for me to have integrity as a consultant and coach if I don't tackle things, large and small. This, in fact, is one of the biggest benefits of the coaching program that I'm starting next month -- coaching for myself! The thing is simply this -- while the changing of a calendar page does help me think about my life, it is a somewhat arbitrary time to decide to start doing this or stop doing that.

The best way to gain momentum, I've found, is to have a sense of the area where I want to explore. From there, I like to find a balance of small, medium, and large changes I'd like to make. I've found greater success when I frame things positively ("Start eating Greek yogurt" as opposed to "Stop eating sugar-filled yogurt") and when I don't take on too many things at a time, I'm much more successful.

Relax. Exhale.

My goals for 2014 are ever-forming and changing. I feel great about progress that I've made in my health and wellness, kicked off by my summer sabbatical. Despite a busy travel schedule, I've managed to get a better workout schedule, or at least one that is much more consistent across travel and home. I've made some healthy food swaps. I'm also feeling much more relaxed -- both in love and in friendships.

So, this year, the big thing I'd like to tackle is my tendency to worry and overthink. Unlike simple exercise or health changes, this is a long-standing part of my life to the point where it's negatively impacting my lifestyle -- always on the go, always moving, always experiencing new things, always traveling. This is something I've tried to overcome for years without a ton of luck. I started digging into this a bit last year (the work of Brene Brown has been inspirational thus far), but I know that I have to dig deeper. Much deeper -- like Resistance to Change deeper. I've been gathering inspirational thoughts and ideas and compiling a list of resources to explore in more depth. As you can imagine, I will blog about the journey. I am learning more every day to love myself more and worry less.

On the medium and small change side, I have a few specific goals for myself. This month, I'm doing a full financial audit to learn more about where I stand. I'd like to save up to buy a new house in the next 2-3 years closer to work, which means both S and I need to save save save and see what we can come up with. The best news is that both of our homes have been gaining value, so we hope another few years will help us out. At this point, I realize that I'm not saving as much as I could or should for that or other goals, so getting deeper into my finances will make it much easier to make tradeoffs and identify potential sources of savings. Let's just say I might need to balance my book-buying habit with a few more trips to the library.

I've been focusing on small changes for food and fitness because I'm very happy with that area of my life now. This month I'm focused on getting to the gym at work twelve times -- which doesn't seem impressive, but we're in London for 10 days (my goal for that trip is three gym workouts and a lot of walking). This will keep me honest and allow me to have a bit more flexibility when we travel. On the diet side, I'm looking to tweak my work eating by limiting my bacon and french fry intake to once a week each.

I'm excited for the new year, and I hope you'll join my journey! I'll do my best to be brutally honest and share my progress and what trips me up. Here's to a positive 2014!

xo
Sarah

Swinging into the new year!