Cleaning the slate

I'd be lying if I told you that things have been going perfectly with my goals...I could list all the reasons why I've been stressed, distracted, and not meeting my daily goals. The problem with that is I let that pile up...instead of starting with a clean slate, I kept trying to "catch up" ... until that got so overwhelming - it was starting to look impossible - that I wasn't doing anything but shuffling "to-do" items all over my list just to make it look better.

Finally, I put on my big girl pants and gave myself a pep talk:

Enough. Clean slate starts now. I don't care what you've not been doing every day. I don't care what the to-do list looks right now. On 1/1/12 that 2012 is YOUR YEAR. What's changed? You still feel that don't you? That this is your year? Of course you do. So clean the slate.


That was followed by a bit of reflection. I had a great plan. I have the tools to implement that plan. I constructed my plan in a smart, organized, prepared way...why isn't it working? The answer was one I knew but one I thought I could avoid.

I do have all the tools...I have everything I need to make my Beachbody business what I want it to be, I have the resources and kitchen tools to eat right, and I have every resistance band, weight, DVD, roller, and more that I need to workout well. That said... I haven't really settled into my apartment (pathetic I know...I've been moved since August). My desktop isn't set up. My kitchen isn't well organized. My living room / gym has a pile of stuff that needs to be donated / sorted / put away. I have too many clothes so my closet are a mess which makes my morning up early / workout / shower / get to work routine a little more difficult which makes it "easier" for me to say "I'll do my workout tonight" ... and we all know how well that goes sometimes.

Time to clean the slate.


In the midst of realizing all of this mid - late February, I took a training class at work on presentations. For my topic, I talked about the financial benefits of being healthier. At the end I fielded a question on how to get started and I gave the 3 point plan many of you have heard: "Write down everything you eat, sweat for 10 minutes each day, and drink more water." As I took my seat, a light bulb went off: If someone can start something as big as a lifestyle change with three little steps, why can't I get myself BACK on a track I KNOW with three little steps? And with a fresh month right around the corner, the timing couldn't be more perfect.

Putting everything behind me, March is now my month to prepare. Newsletters are on hold. Recipes are on hold. Most blog posts will be on hold. I have three goals and if it's not going to help me achieve one of these three goals for the month, it's on hold. I'm still running my challenge group and I'm still here for questions, support, answers, picking programs, and more - please don't hesitate to come to me!

My March "dream board"

My three March goals:

- Have a GREEN SuperGym calendar in WOWY with my P90X2 workouts. Basically this means I'm going to stick to the P90X2 program and track it all in WOWY live. 

- Develop a regular grocery list, meal ideas, etc. to ensure I have a plan for clean, healthy eating on a regular basis.

- Organize my apartment so I can relax at home and easily get to all of the tools I need to be a better coach, workout better, and eat better all the time. 

Why "clean slate"?

The "clean slate" concept is important because I'm forcing my usually type A personality to forget that I haven't stuck to the P90X2 plan as well as I'd like, I haven't been great at eating, I haven't stuck to my plan to get organized this year...I'm putting that behind me.

So here's the accountability. 

I've done my workouts so far this month (along with a little extra) and I'm excited to be trying boxing here soon! (Thank you Groupon!). My eating hasn't been perfect but it's getting better - especially since I gave up meat for Lent! The organization is slow...it still seems overwhelming but I'm breaking things down this week to make it a little more manageable. On April 1st, I'm going to make a "dream realized" board to share with you how my plan to get it together has worked...and I'll post progress reports here along the way!

So my question for you:

How do you react when you start to feel overwhelmed and like you're getting behind on your goals? Do you try to catch up? Do you start over? Do you go back to the drawing board?