2018: The Year of the Empowered You

Are you sick of setting resolutions around losing weight or giving up things that make you happy, only to give up on them before February even begins? This year, instead of resolutions, how about trying something new to help form a foundation for you to build the most empowered version of yourself?

As a Mace Brand ambassador, my goal is to help people empower themselves to be strong, safe and confident; not just on the streets but in all aspects of their lives. In alignment with the launch of the Mace Brand Purple Empowerment line, I thought it would be a powerful start to the New Year to share three different ways to set yourself up for a stronger, safer and smarter New Year:

1. Set an intention for the year

An intention is kind of like a theme for your life, work and relationships. You can have one theme throughout all of those different categories or different themes for different categories. An intention can be one word or a phrase that sets up a framework for you to live in.

This word or phrase can be used as a mantra throughout the year to keep you focused on your intention when the going gets rough or you start to get distracted.

For example, my intention for my body and health this year is STRONG. Therefore, my framework for my health and body is to take actions that will keep me feeling strong. I will continue to strength train to keep my body strong, cardio to keep my heart strong, yoga to keep my mind/body connection strong and eat foods that will keep my insides strong. When I get tempted to eat foods that will weaken my body, energy and immune system (like sugar), I will simply repeat my intention to stay focused.

2. Develop a healthy habit checklist

If setting intentions sounds too heady for you, maybe developing a healthy habit checklist will be a better fit. Set anywhere from three to seven healthy habits that you will commit to for the year to help set you up for a successful year. These healthy habits can be for all areas of your life including body, mind, career, fun and family. Or perhaps you want to do one checklist for your entire life. There are a number of ways to create this visually but I like to set up Excel spreadsheets for my clients. Habits along the top and dates down the side. Each box on the spreadsheet is used to check off after you’ve completed that daily habit.

Examples of healthy habits can include:

• Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water.
• Break a sweat.
• Write in journal.
• Exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes.
• Give someone a compliment.
• Meditate for 5 minutes.
• Eat 50% of my plate in vegetables.
• Read before bed.

Or any specific healthy habits that you want to incorporate into your year to empower you to be your healthiest self.

3. Set goals and write them down

If you are motivated by reaching goals, then writing your yearly goals will be a great practice for you. Writing them down helps solidify them in your mind and make them more real. What people usually miss is that they should be somewhere visible and accessible so you can review them all year long.

Once you write down your goals for what you want to have accomplished by this time next year, the next step would be to break each of those goals down into smaller goals and write in your calendar what needs to be done by certain dates.

For example, if you want to run a marathon this time next year, then you will likely have a lot of training to do. You can write in your calendar how many miles you will have to run and by when. Start from the marathon and work your way backwards. If the marathon is in December, then by November you will have to do a 22-mile run. In October, you may have to run 18 miles. By August, you’ll have to run 14 miles and so on. Those are just numbers I made up but I hope you get the picture. Big goals are great but remember to chunk them down into smaller goals too.

Lastly, remember to reward yourself when you do reach your goals so you recognize your commitment and hard work!

Cheers to an empowered year and setting ourselves up for success! Happy 2018!