Celebrate Milestones��������������������������������������������������������

When you offer your goals consistent focus and effort, you will find that sticking to your strategies will be far simpler� It’s easier to stick to your strategies through moments of distress than it is to try and pick up the pieces thereafter� Yes, sometimes we can all do with a break, but try not to let it happen too often� For example, if your workload has picked up drastically or you’ve moved to a new city, trying to maintain some semblance of your routine will be easier than trying to pick things up when life is “easier”� Why? Well, because life never truly gets easier� We get tougher! If you put your own life on hold in hopes of resetting yourself when you start to feel better, that time may never come� Resilience and grit will see you through�

Celebrate Milestones

On the other side of that very same coin is being able to release yourself from self-judgment and punishment� While sticking to your goals even in times of distress is important,

you’re human� You’re allowed to have moments when you bend or break under the pressures of modern-day life�

Not only should you be focusing on being kind to yourself, but you should also be celebrating your milestones� Every win, no matter how small it may seem, is worth celebrating� If you managed to wake up earlier than you normally would this week, smile and know that you’re on the right track� If you added a few fruits to your daily diet, give yourself a pat on the back� These small wins add up to big gains in the long run� More importantly, celebrating them will give you the motivation that you need to keep going�

When you’re ready to embrace this, you can begin getting into the specifics�

Part II

Getting Into Specifics

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Fitness

Let’s talk ‘Physical Fitness’ for a minute� While many of us know that physical activity is important for our health and well-being, very few of us actually take this seriously� “I’ll start exercising next week,” is the general idea that floats around from time to time but never really sticks� Before you know it, years have passed without ever getting your body moving and that can have incredibly negative effects on both the body and the mind�

With this in mind, let’s run through a few of the many benefits that physical activity has to offer:

• Helps maintain a healthy weight; • Reduces the risk of long-term illness and disease; • Improves brain function; • Strengthens bones; • Increases muscle tone and strength; • Combats depression, insomnia, and fatigue�

Now, it’s important to recognize that we are all at different stages of our physical fitness, which is totally okay! But before we dive into building a routine, let’s take some time to assess your fitness level�