Welcome to 2015!

Regardless of the events of 2014, January 1 always marks a clean slate to start from. Obviously some things carry through to the new year, but for the most part you can look at the upcoming year as an unwritten book.

And to learn from your past – both the positive and negative events.

I’m not going to tell you 2015 is going to be perfect, or even better than last year. The fact is that we have no idea what the next 364 days hold for us. They could be incredible and full of really great things, or they could be shit and challenge you constantly. What I can tell you is that YOU shape your own life – no one else has that control. When the bad things happen, handle them, learn from them, and move on. Don’t let them carry through longer than necessary. Leave the toxic stuff behind you and focus on the positives.Use last year as a learning experience. Both negative and positive events shaped you into who you are now and taught you something. So use everything. And, keep these things in mind:

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Try new things, and throw yourself into them. If they don’t work out how you wanted them to, don’t sweat it. Learn from them – no matter how small or large the lesson is, it’ll help in the future. Mistakes show that you’re trying, and any attempt is better than sitting back and watching.

Evaluate your priorities. Spend less time watching TV or surfing the internet and do things that matter and will make you better. Everyone has the same amount of time in the day, what you do with it is up to you. Yes, time to relax is needed, but you don’t need to spend 5 hours in front of the TV to feel relaxed each night.

Never stop learning. No one knows everything! Coaches have coaches, pros have coaches, experts became experts because they’re always seeking new information. We’re lucky enough to live in this technologically advanced world with easy access to information – start taking advantage of it. However, take it all with a grain of salt – just because it’s online doesn’t mean it’s credible or correct.

Embrace learning – it’s the most important step in personal growth.

Surround yourself with the right people. Those who stand beside you during the tough times as well as the fun times are the right people – they support you, laugh and cry with you, and celebrate with you. Holding onto the wrong people can be exhausting, distracting, and can limit your potential.

I’ve been thinking of resolutions for the last week. I have plenty of goals planned, but resolutions seem so much greater. Like they need to be deep and meaningful because the word alone is pretentious (can a word be pretentious?? in my blog world it can). So far, my resolutions are to spend more quality time with Kyle (and the dogs). We work a LOT, and we took for granted the fact that we worked together for 35 hours a week. With that changing, I want to make a point of spending non-work time together. Additionally, during our workout this morning, I told Kyle I was going to stop “shitting around at the gym”. Not that I slack on any training session, but I need (and want) to push harder. I’ve told him to treat me like his own athlete and test my limits. If I fail, at least I’ve tried. 

Wishing you all the best this year. A happy, healthy, successful, challenging, and motivating year! XO