New Year's resolutions are always exciting, we have all this new found energy and excitement that we are going to do certain things that are going to change our lives. Big plans, big dreams nothing is going to stand in our way, can you relate? I love the process of reflection and then goal setting to kick off the New Year with amazing intentions for the coming year.
Since being a mom I have always looked back at the previous year in reflection and figured out what great things am I going to do in the coming year to make life as I want it, how do I want home life to look, is this the year I make exercise a priority, maybe we plan something big with the kids, maybe there is a money goal. Let's be real though, the excitement can dim very quickly when real life takes over and the day to day grind wears on you, and you don't have an actual plan to hold yourself to these resolutions or goals. I'm guilty for not following through on many goals and resolutions in the past and it can be a big hit to the self confidence a few months in and you realize no consistent steps have been taken in the direction of those goals.
The past is behind us so let's hit this years goals with a new found intentions and success. Here are 6 steps to make your New Years Resolution and Goals a success.
- Get Specific, you need to really narrow down and get specific about what that goal is, so jut saying I'm going to exercise isn't going to be as effective as I'm going to loose 40 pounds, or I'm going to be a confident runner by spring 2021.
- Break Big Dreams Into Smaller Steps, this is very important, this is where the planning comes in, you are really thinking about your goal and how you will achieve it. Being able to accomplish smaller steps within the goal builds confidence and keeps you on track to the big picture. So instead of only have a goal of loosing 40 lbs with no road map, break it down, what things have to happen for that to be achieved? regular exercise, healthy eating, a trainer or group to keep you accountable, a set time in your schedule to exercise, a space to exercise, the list could go on. Small steps keep you motivated as you accomplish them and keep you working in a clear direction.
- Understand Why You Haven't Made A Change In The Past, until you really grasp why you haven't already changed or why your sticking to these old habits it's going to be really hard to find the motivation and energy to make that hard left to a new life. Identify rd blocks in the past and map out new ways to get past them, seeing those bumps in the rd before they come can really help you succeed when life gets hard.
- Commit Yourself, this is where accountability comes in, say those goals out loud to your friends or family, heck both. Join an in person or online group that will get you connected to other people with similar goals, excitement and motivation is contagious, this strategy can really help you hold to your plan and when things get tough you have a group of people behind you to cheer you on, they will be invested in your success as you will be in theirs, this hands down has been the deal breaker for me staying on track to achieving goals.
- Change Is A Process, don't get caught up with how long its taking, as long as you continue to move forward you are winning. Remember unhealthy or undesired habits that you are trying to change probably took years to develop so how can we expect to change them in a matter of weeks or even months. Many times we are working toward a goal of implementing something for the rest of our lives, so just being consistent and doing it everyday or so many times a week is a huge win right there, be patient with yourself and see the wins amongst the daily things you do that are getting you that much closer to the goal.
- How You Handle Set Backs, a setback is one of the most common reasons why people give up on their goals or resolutions. If you suddenly fall back into a bad habit, don't view that as a failure, the rd to success isn't straight we will all encounter twists and dead ends at times, it's important to asses and pivot. Figure out why it happened, did something trigger your setback, and what might you do differently next time. Give yourself grace and continue on working towards your goal.
Keep your eye on the prize, accomplishing a goal is an amazing feeling, it can boost your confidence and your self worth. It is worth working hard towards, pushing when times get hard, you made this resolution or goal for a reason, a good reason, keep that clear in your mind. Not only do we work towards goals for ourselves but we do it to show our children how important it is to set your eyes on something you want and work hard for it.
If you need a place where moms support moms and their goals, pop over to my FB GROUP ( Stay At Home Moms Crushing Life's Doubts)
I'll be cheering you on!
Ebony
Not only is being a mom down right hard, it can have you second guessing yourself all the time. We are in unknown territory, we've never done this before, there's definitely no manual. Do you find yourself doubting and second guessing yourself all the time? If it's a yes, this can cause so much unwanted stress in your life, leading to sadness, lower confidence, conflict within relationships, seclusion, and so much more.
So why do we second guess ourselves so much? A lot of times this is something that is developed early on. You probably struggled with lower confidence before babe came along, if you think back to earlier years I'm sure some memories of times where you were unsure if you made the right choice took over a situation. Second guessing and doubting yourself are forms of insecurity that many people experience when thinking about the situation they are in and have they made the right decisions, you aren't completely trusting in yourself, you are unsure you have the right info to make the right choice. Do know you are not along, this is so common, and there are ways to overcome it!
It's harder to learn some skills later on, not impossible but harder, this is why it's so important to teach our kids these foundation skills growing up, cooking, organization, communication, cleaning, self care, self love, how to prioritize, my goodness my list could go on, my point being if you are struggling with these things it's time to gain the skills you feel you are lacking to be able to model and teach your children so they don't end up struggling in the areas you do.
I belong to a few mom groups and second guessing and self doubt pops up everywhere, so many questions are asked each day around simple everyday things that moms are worried and unsure of. For many these questions seems so simple but for self doubting, second guessing moms they are huge, and often crippling. Building confidence, working on yourself is so worth it, pushing through the hard things that sometimes seem impossible but once done really aren't that hard are huge boosts of confidence, but doing that along is sure to be near impossible. That's where I knew I needed to create a space to nature those struggles, help women succeed in those everyday things we all want to be able to do with confidence and courage. A place we can cheer each other on but also voice our struggles and look for solutions. If this sounds like a place you want to be pop over to my FB GROUP (Happy & Thriving Moms - Stay At Home Moms Crushing Life's Doubts)
Can't wait to cheer you on!
Ebony
We've made it to 2021, it almost doesn't seem possible. What at times felt like the longest year, when I reflect it truly went by so fast. I encourage you to sit and reflect about your year, even if you weren't happy with it, reflect, savour the good moments, asses the bad and see where you need to shift. We need to both be grateful and see where we need to improve in our lives to insure this new year is more of what we desire.
Are you someone that makes New Year goals? resolutions? intentions? I was never much into it, I always found I did them half heartedly, I wasn't really even sure what I really wanted to accomplish. With age and a stronger drive and intention to make my life exactly what I want I've decided this year I'm going to make some clear, specific goals. I'm creeping up on 40, and I don't want to hit 40 and feel I'm not certain in my life and have missed out on getting it all together. So no time like now to kick it into high gear right? lol
Business wise I've always knew I wanted to have my own business, work from home and run the show. That has been clear since I was young. My parents had their own business, I grew up having them both around most the time, we never had to just do things on weekends, it was a pretty flexible schedule, so I have fond memories of that and knew I wanted that when I was an adult. I've searched and tried for years to find my way in my career, raising 3 kids, one who is special needs, a husband who is on the ocean for sea a lot, it hasn't been easy, a lot of dead ends but finally I am in a spot that I am clear in what I will be doing to create that entrepreneurial life I have always wanted. Now to really apply my skills, be dedicated to what needs to be done, and to help other moms find their way in their journey to working form home, so they don't take as many wrong turns as me! Life really is about using the skills you have to help others reach what they may not know how to get. Service will be huge this year, and that excited me.
My personal life I feel is just starting to get to a spot where I can breath again, the kids are big enough I can carve out a social life again, enjoy some hobbies in more frequency, have a little more time to do things for myself, it's pretty exciting. I'm creative at heart so I enjoy making, building, and creating things, both in nature and within my home so I'm very excited for the coming year to indulge more in things that make me happy, maybe even sell some of the things I love to create, there's no way I can keep it all lol
My health, I feel I live a pretty balanced life, we eat well, we live a healthy lifestyle, i've worked hard over the years raising kids to also not forget about myself and how I need to take my supplements and make sure I eat and treat my body well so I don't end up sick and not able to care for everyone, that's the last thing I want. There has been one area I have put off and Ive decided I'm not doing it anymore, EXERCISE. I have never incorporated exercise into my life, and now with some family history of heart attack, my age, and this new stage I'm not putting it off anymore, I have made the commitment that this is a top priority, phew, there I said it. It's happening and I'm excited, my goal is to become a successful runner by the spring, so I will start off getting my body ready for this over the winter and when spring comes i'll be ready to hit the ground running, HA! legit lol
So there it is folks! My plans for 2021, i'm excited, I feel confident and I encourage you to really figure out what you need to do to get where you want to be, if working at home and still raising the kids is on your list pop over to my FB GROUP where I can help you with some of the hard things that creep up, heck if you just don't know where to start my group is a great place to start.
HAPPY 2021
Ebony
It can be hard to reflect if you're not in a good place or if your not in a spot you are happy with. I encourage you to sit and reflect on your life often. How can we move forward in a direction we want if we don't know where we are. In business we are taught to asses and pivot as needed, that's how you keep a business thriving, it's no different with life we are always pivoting and changing direction. It can be so easy to get stuck in this idea of a path we have for our life and when obstacles, tragedy, emergencies, heck like throws us something we think that that plan we had, that idea of what we wanted for life is gone, and we can get stuck. I don't want you to be stuck, I was stuck, it sucks! We need to roll with life and pivot as needed, be flexible and go for that idea of life we always wanted. The path will look different but the picture can still be there.
For me it was having a daughter with special needs, disabilities, an unknown future. It definitely wasn't in my plans. I thought I was going to raise my kids, have a career, watch my kids thrive, grow and go off and succeed in their lives. Not the case with my second child, she will always be my dependent, be with me and be cared for by me. That's heavy and sad at times, but I've realized I don't have to let that keep me stuck, my path to my dreams is going to have to pivot and look a little different but I'm going to get there. Part of this path is helping other parents who are stuck move forward. It's time to stop wasting our time in a place we aren't happy with and move to a spot we are happy and thriving, a spot we feel we have a purpose and helping others, the world will be a better place if we all start to look for ways we can help people with the skills, and lessons we have acquired.
I encourage you to reflect often on where you are in life and if you're not happy do something, don't settle, do something to move yourself forward in a direction that gets you closer to what you always dreamed of, anyone can do it, it's about taking those first steps which I know can be the hardest. Much Love.
It really was a moment where the light switch flicked on. Doctors don't really tell you all the options there are, they just set you up with what they know or what the hospital considers the go to way. It truly is up to us to either ask questions, do research, or just do what you know is right. I'm more of the type to do research and then jump in with 2 feet. So first thing I did was ditch the pump, why do I need a pump and extra piece of mechanics to do the same thing I can do with a 60ml syringe, not to mention it is much less cleanup. Next I got myself a good blender, I chose a blendtec, by far the best investment to date. I use it for more than just her blends, soups, smoothies, sauces, the margaritas, and so much more, you will not regret it, you can grab it here.
I started to make simple real food blends that had babies first foods in them, so toast, basic fruits, simple proteins and fed that the first week to make sure I avoided things that could be allergens or hard on the belly, I slowly introduced possible allergy foods and fed them one at time in the blend for about a week to make sure no allergies were present. Very quickly once I noticed that all was good I just started blending it all, I learnt a few tricks along the way. You need to add foods with extra calories because you are thinning the food you blend down to be able to go through the tube, so things like gravies, pan drippings, peanut butter, jams, healthy oils like liquid coconut oil, condiments like mayo these all add some extra calories so I make sure I toss a few tablespoons in my blends each blend. Avocado is packed full of healthy calories and fats but it doesn't take much to increase the thickness of the blend to pudding, so I prefer to use avocado oil instead, there are so many great quality protein powders out there, utilize them they can really help make a hardy blend full of goodness, I'm a huge believer in supplements so I give probiotics through the tube, I have a juice that is full of antioxidants that helps to support her immune system, you can do all the things you would regularly do, just via tube. There are so many things you will learn and it's fun! It's so rewarding knowing you are feeding your medically challenged child real food to nourish their struggling bodies. It puts some normal back in your life when they can enjoy the same things we do at suppertime, I love blending a big jug of turkey dinner with all the fixings, cranberry sauce and gravy included.
I'm a firm believer that food is life. We nourish our bodies with what we feed it, we have colourful diets for a reason, we need to eat the rainbow to get all those nutrients, that we need to live and heal, and this shouldn't change because we have feeding tubes. I often ask people who are on the fence, how do you think you would feel if you ONLY, everyday, every meal, drank a white drink that had ALOT of sugar in it? Might you feel bloated? Heavy? lack of energy? brain fog? lack of concentration? I'm pretty sure non of us would ever consider only doing that, so why are we choosing for our loved ones to do that? It can't be the only choice and it shouldn't be. Humans are meant to eat real food. If you want to have more support pop on over to my Facebook Group, I love to teach on the importance of supplements, real food, recipes, the importance of water, all the things to help keep a happy healthy life.
