Life is hard enough, so stop moaning and go out and get what you want

I can’t say it is a fantastic new year and everything is just dandy because let’s face it, the world is in a mess at the moment and Covid seems to be in overdrive.

Each year as humans we feel obligated to set new year’s resolutions and losing weight, making more money and working less, seem to be on top of the list.

It’s the guilt from over-indulging both in food and purse that drives these motivators and the amount of work needed to get in check, is going to take a while, hence wanting to work less.

We are complex and sophisticated creatures, but at certain times of the year we set ourselves up for failure.

Christmas time is filled with the expectations of having to buy presents and not always the cheapest ones to please children and spouses.

The same festive season sabotages your fitness gains for the year. Christmas time is basically leaving a kid in a candy store for a week and saying to him or her you are only allowed one candy a day.

What do you think is going to happen? The environment you are in will crush even the most resilient.

If we are willing to subscribe to these environments but know we are going to come out second best, then why do we do it?

If that question is too hard to answer, then how about setting up a positive environment for 2021 through the year which will contribute to your success.

Set up mini continuous environments that are going to make you successful in 2021 and here are a few that can help:

1 Practice Covid protocol. Hear me out before I lose you, no matter what you think of the disease, and we all have an opinion or conspiracy to share. Take the time out to follow basic guidelines, wear a mask, use a quality sanitiser and stay away from mass gatherings. I say this not to sound like a stuck record but rather because it is going to derail your time frame of being successful if you get ill. It will mess up your training, your work and moral. Focus on the bigger picture, you need to move forward and being healthy is a key factor on your journey.

2 Build value every day. In business they teach you, don’t just sell but rather add value to the lives of others. Since you are setting up your success environments you need to focus on adding value to yourself, your home, your family and those you love. Building value is basically working on yourself to be better. Invest in a free course on bookboon.com and learn to communicate better, stress less, improve your self-esteem and confidence. By adding value to yourself first, you set up a better you to engage with the world.

3 Write a personal mission statement. This is important to do since this sets the tone and your drive moving forward. One missing state could be to get a hold of your well-being and weight. It could go something like this: “I will have no more than one glass of wine a night during the week. I will focus on a smaller portion of food and no going back for seconds and, apart from hitting my 10 000 steps each day, I will walk the kids or dogs each night after dinner.” This is a daily mantra that you aim to achieve each day, no matter what. Just remember, you don’t get fat overnight, it is the sum of all those bad habits over time. These new good habits are guaranteed to put you on a path to health and weight success.

4 Top 10 goals. We have to follow tradition and there is no better time than January to focus on what you want to achieve this year. Get some structure by introducing categories. Inside these categories write down your biggest goal and then you can add sub-goals to it. Here are some categories to list but make sure you focus on what is important to you right now and in the near future: Spiritual, Health, fitness and wellness, My relationships, Budget and Finances, Add Value Internally, Adding Value Externally, Ambitions, Not-to-do-list, De-cluttering, Career, My bucket lists

5 Find a hobby other than work. It might sound weird, but people become obsessed with the grind of work, school, kids, making dinner and pleasing everyone else. Hobbies allow you to take your mind off the grind and help you to destress. Find like-minded friends who love the same things as you do as it makes you less highly strung.

My final thought and message for 2021 is: Focus on what is important to you and your family. Stop moaning about life and how bad it is or how bad things are. Consume your time with positive people and people who want to get ahead in life. Life is too short to be miserable. Take the bull by the horns and go out and get what you want.

Sean van Staden

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