GETTING STARTED IN THE NEW YEAR

Welcome to 2018! Carpe Diem and Thrive have teamed up to bring you the best of both the image consulting and wellness worlds. Our goal is to approach physical and mental self improvement holistically. Carpe Diem will give you insights from a physical, self improvement perspective, while Thrive will focus on the psychological perspective. To learn more about Thrive visit www.thrivetoronto.com. To learn more about Carpe Diem visit www,seizethedaygta.ca.

Yes, it's been a month already, but we feel like we’re just getting started. It's February and it's so easy to get wrapped up in our daily lives that we often forget our goals that we excitedly set for ourselves at the beginning of January.

The Thrive Perspective
One of the major obstacles to meet our New Year Resolution Goals is getting started. Usually if you feel unmotivated, have a hard time starting, then you feel like it's too late by the time a few weeks go by, or as it gets closer and closer to February. Your inner voice might say things like 'Ugh, it's too late', 'You've missed the window', 'what's the point'.

Our minds set strict rules to try to organize ourselves, motivate us, and also to try to get us going. Sometimes these strict rules work against us, they set us up for unrealistic expectations of ourselves, and never cut us any slack. Instead, it reinforces feelings of hopelessness and failure. How do we move away from these negative reinforcements? How do we set ourselves up to succeed in our goals?

Let's start by getting started 
So where do we begin? Well at the beginning of course! I believe that arbitrary deadlines and forced resolutions lead to misery, while initially they can be motivating. I find that most times my clients get weighed down by the pressure to achieve these goals. I will share some ideas that I've found both positive and simple to execute not just in my clients lives, but also my own:

Take a hammer and smash those rigid rules. Moving fluidly from goal to goal is an important aspect of overcoming feeling stuck. It’s important to be able to change things up if the goal that you set isn’t working. Remember if it feels like a struggle to get started, or isn’t bringing you any satisfaction, move to another goal, switch it up.

Overcoming your barriers takes time, so start with smaller, more manageable goals. Take fifteen minutes a day for self care, break it up into five minute blocks if you need. Do something nice for yourself, take some time to meditate, read. Make sure it’s meaningful and focused on your needs.

The Carpe Diem Perspective
Let’s focus on your new year’s resolutions. A regimented day will keep you on track to your goals; add a little bit of time to your schedule to focus, just 15 mins per day to start and increase time as you go. Winter is the hardest time to get yourself out of the house, so utilize your comfort zones, whether it’s at home, with a loved one or in a community space. Make sure your environment encourages you. You can expect to hear more about the winter blues (S.A.D.) from Thrive in an upcoming piece.

Start slow, choose one thing this week that you want to do to better yourself. Do you want to feel healthier? Do you want to feel sexier? Do you want to feel empowered? Whichever you want, even if it’s all of the above or something else, pick one to focus on this week. Think of one small thing you can do to fulfill that need, and ensure you commit to it. For example, if you want to have better hair, maybe one day this week you can pull out your hair styling products and play around with it. Easy right? It will not be so daunting anymore when you break it into little pieces. Then you can feel proud for taking that one step forward. 

Stick to the basics when you get started. Many people want to start the New Year healthy. Are you a morning or evening person? If you work during the day depending on your schedule, try to at least start your day off with a quick and healthy meal, like a small yogurt cup with some chia seeds. If your mornings are open, fit in at least a five minute workout to wake yourself up.  Not only is it a great way to energize, but it is a great quick fitness routine. Improving your outward image and health is going to keep you feeling vibrant and uplifted.

In terms of boosting your self confidence, even if you’re not going anywhere, start your day by dressing up to impress yourself. Make yourself feel the part you want to play for the day with the outfit you are wearing.  Sometimes dressing the part is half the battle. It’s a great way to get motivated and start off on the right foot.

Your goals are your own and you should be proud of them. Dream boards are a perfect thing to start for the New Year. When you’ve created one focus on your board to keep your eye on the prize and build/maintain motivation to uphold your New Year goals. Look for more details on dream boards in upcoming posts.
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Moving Forward
Congratulate yourself on whatever you did, whether it’s 5 mins or once in the week. Make sure that you are encouraging, empowering and validating your progress.
Be patient and kind to yourself, remember getting started is the hardest part.

Need more or still feeling stuck? We’re here to help. Contact us at info@thrivetoronto.com or kavitha.carpediem@gmail.com.