I’ve never loved working out. At least not the type of workouts that work.

What truly works for my body are HIIT workouts and core work (think: burpees, mountain climbers, jump squats and plank).

Although I love the energy rush I get after a workout and the results I can get, the actual working out part…

Not so much.

After spending all of 2021 insisting I could get the results I wanted doing what I liked - only to be disappointed - I finally set a goal and committed to doing what works at the beginning of this year.

And it worked! But not by doing what most people do...

Most of us set a goal and try to do it all immediately. Or attempt to create a big, new habit (or worse, several) at once.

Instead of doing that, I started small.

I decided that I can do just about anything for 15 minutes. After all, it’s just 15 minutes!

And I did every weekday.

Instead of obsessing over how miserable I felt, I told myself… It's just 15 minutes, I can do this.

After 30 days, I started to see small (but real) results.

And expanded that 15 minutes to 20 minutes per day (which later was expanded to 25 minutes).

Not only have I stuck with it all year but I achieved all (and exceeded some) of the metrics I set for myself.

I even look forward to my workouts.

This concept of making what feels hard easier doesn’t just apply to working out, Friend.

It applies to virtually anything you want to change or achieve.

Like growing your business, confidently speaking in front of a large group of people, writing a book or changing your eating habits.

Your brain’s job is to create reasons why you can’t, shouldn’t or it just won’t work. Because it’s nervous about big changes.

The good news is you can counteract this instinct by starting small.

Yes, set big goals for the year ahead. Have a big vision for where you’re going personally and professionally.

But then meet yourself where you are and make it easy to get started by:

• Identifying one small, doable step you can do now,

• Establishing a smaller habit (that you can commit to) that gets you part-way there, or

• Committing to taking action - but only for a short period of time (like I did!).

You’ll gain confidence, create momentum and make it easier to keep going.

It’s that time of year… Time to set goals for the year ahead.

Be sure to set the right goals.

Goals that challenge you (so you’ll grow!).

Goals you enjoy working towards.

And also goals that get you where you want to be (not where others think you should be).

To ensure you do that, I invite you to join me for my upcoming goal-setting workshop on December 15th. In this free workshop (held via Zoom) you’ll:

• Learn about 5 common goal-setting mistakes to avoid.

• Discover the keys to setting motivating goals (that keep you going all year long).

• Get a goal-setting framework for goals that bring happiness + fulfillment.

Learn more about and register for the workshop here.

XO,

Heather

P.S. If you’re a lawyer or other service professional with a goal to grow your business, check out this week’s podcast about the 3 most common business development challenges that are probably getting in your way from building the business you want.

Listen to the episode >>>here.

XO,

Heather