Ok so if we tally up your resolutions from last year you should:

• Have the body of your dreams
• Be financially independent
• Do charity work 3 times a week
• Have written that novel

No? Me either. But that’s ok. I’ll be honest, I’m going to add those resolutions right back on my list again this year. I’m not upset that things didn’t turn out perfectly last year. My ideal plan didn’t work out the way I thought it would. But why would I let an imperfect conclusion make me feel like a failure?

I worked at each of my resolutions. And any action is better than no action at all. I may have not come as far as other people, but I also know I have done more than others. But regardless of how other compare, I was writing my own story.  

Life is always a work in progress. Even if you do achieve your ideal body, will you maintain it? I fluctuate, because I like beer and wings, and football Sundays. I don’t beat myself up about it. I enjoy it, then I use my other time to lace up my running shoes and hit the streets. I am not a financial savant. I enjoy traveling, going to restaurants, and building on my hobbies. It’s ok!

Life happens. You are never “there.” You don’t reach any certain point and just stop. You should be always working at something, trying to improve, and be setting new goals. But it’s ok to pause momentarily (a day, a weekend, sometimes even a couple months), assess and regroup, then react. That’s not a major setback. Football teams huddle and regroup, race cars have to enter the pits and refuel, people need a day of rest.

So don’t kick yourself and tell yourself that last year was horrible. And don’t think that it was all be fixed in 2016. 2015 may have had its imperfect conclusions, but so will next year, and the year after that. Keep fighting, keep regrouping, keep using each year as one step to the next. 5, 10, maybe 20 years from now you will look back and see how far you have come.

Cheers to the next step!  

Happy New Years to all!