Slay 2017: Here’s How To Keep Your January Momentum Strong All Year Long

It’s a new year and you’ve purchased the popular planner that you’ve seen everyone post on Instagram (I purchased one too). You have all new BPA-free food containers to help you jumpstart #bodygoals17. You went to the vision board parties. You signed up for positive newsletters. You have been telling yourself that you are ready to slay 2017 like a BAUCE.

Has it all worn off yet? Are you sitting looking at your goals thinking, “How will I achieve all of this in one year?” Did you already miss a day at the gym? If you are looking at your pretty planner shaking your head, then it’s time to take heed of some good advice. Use these tips and suggestions to keep your January momentum going all year long.

1) Be clear on what you want your 2017 to look like

Vision boards are a great place to start, if you want to go digital and save a few coins, create one on Pinterest. The idea is to gain clarity on what you want your 2017 to look like. In the past I would have so many ideas swirling around in my mind that I became frustrated. To gain clarity, you need to see it, write it down, post your vision board up, or visit it often if it’s online. The process of creating a vision board will help you visualize goals that you may not have thought of.

2) Mentally prepare for the work

The vision board party gets you pumped and all your 2017 accessories you’ve purchased makes everything look grand, but you must mentally prepare for the work. One of the things we forget (including me) is the amount of work it will take to reach each goal. Whether it’s through meditation or visually seeing yourself completing each goal you must be mentally prepared.  A good book to read that will help you learn how to bring your visions into fruition is The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Don’t have time to read? You can watch The Secret on Netflix.

3) Physically prepare for the work

Now that you are mentally wrapping your mind around each goal and how it will be attained this year, the next step is doing the work. The curse of social media is that is makes everything look like it magically happened without putting in a lot of time, effort, and elbow grease. Did you know Solange started writing A Seat at The Table when she was 27 and released the album on her 30^th birthday? Everything you want you can achieve, but you must do the work required. And in most cases, long-term success requires long-term work ethic.

This means giving yourself the time to learn and then put what you’ve learned into practice. One of the biggest mistakes I made early on in my career was jumping at what seemed like an opportunity before doing all the research. Research is boring. Not a lot of people like it, but research can mean the difference between your company thriving or you spending a bunch of money on an idea that nobody likes but you. Give yourself time to do the work and do it right even if it takes longer than expected. Remember, this is not a race — it’s a marathon.

4) Break your goals down

At the beginning of each year the list of goals that hung on my wall would inspire me and by the middle of the year, it would scare me. It started to look like a laundry list that was never ending. And then I decided to break the big goals down. The idea is to take a mountain and turn it into small pebbles. A pebble I can deal with on a Monday…now a mountain — that’s a different story. Each small daily goal (pebble) you accomplish helps you to knock out the mountain (the goal).

My book recommendation for this: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy.

5) Create realistic routines

Every day (at least once a day) you take a shower. It’s a habit that’s ingrained into your life. It’s a daily goal you accomplish without even realizing it. Think about how many times you’ve mentally planned your day out and thought, “First I’m going to shower and then….” You must create a daily schedule that incorporates the work you need to do to achieve your goals.

This means using the pretty planner and all the accessories you purchased at the beginning of the year. Create a realistic day-to-day schedule of what you can do with the full life you already have. We mess up by creating these grand plans without considering the active lives we already lead.

Some BAUCES have families, some have two jobs, some are in school full-time, we all have lives that require our daily attention. The idea is to put the work in spaces where you have time so you won’t feel overwhelmed.

Book recommendations: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg and Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity by James Fallows.

6) Tap another BAUCE for advice

Have you ever looked at someone who is successful in your field and wondered, “How do they get it done?” Stop wondering and ask. I knew someone who was in the same field I was in, and she was succeeding while making it look effortless.

I decided to reach out to her and ask for any advice she had to offer. Now, before you go stalking people on the internet, make sure you create a genuine connection. Once she told me how long her “effortless success” took it put things into perspective for me.

Knowing the amount of time and work it took for another BAUCE to become successful will help you keep your momentum when you feel like the process is taking too long. It forces us to look at our goals and evaluate the time we’ve given ourselves to accomplish them.

7) Keep a tool box of positivity on deck

In a perfect world, everyone would support us and we would never have a moment of doubt. In the real world, we know that’s not the case. Maintaining momentum all year long requires you to feed your mind, body, and spirit with positivity. You are a gated community and only things that will help enhance you as a person should be allowed to enter.

I get it. Every day you won’t feel amped up to accomplish your goals, you’re human. On those days, your positivity toolbox will get you through. Some of my positivity tools include prayer, listening to podcasts, reading books, talking to other BAUCES, and watching inspirational videos on YouTube. Oh, and muffins (don’t judge me). Get your tool box of positivity on deck so whenever you have a moment (and you will) you can reach in your box and get back on track.

BAUCES, every goal you set out to achieve this year is attainable. All things take time, dedication, and a lot of hard work. Don’t beat yourself up because things are taking longer than expected, remember this is your journey, respect it.

Be sure to join the BAUCE squad!